Nameless
by Nomechan
Summary: Victorian Fantasy AU. When the royal family of England calls upon a team elite investigators to find the whereabouts of a missing princess, mysteries concerning the royal family, supernatural events and other court scandals will unfold, creating unexpected bonds that will be the key to overcome the greatest enemy. 01xR, 06xN, 02xH. Summary sucks but take a look R&R
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone. It's been a while since I wrote anything and should probably try to update my other story, but I've fallen into a writers block when it comes to horror and have been busy. I wanted to try something in another kind of story and stumbled with these. I do hope you may forgive any grammar/ writing mistakes, English is my second language after all.**

 **Just to clarify, after analyzing the JP version of the series. I believe that Relena's last name should be Dorian and not really Darlian since in katakana it is written** **ドーリアン** **and not** **ダ** **ー** **リアン** **(darian). Also, instead of Miliardo I will be referering to him as Miliard since I belive the do (** **ド** **) is just an adjustment to the sound.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I just own the plot I've created and the secondary characters included in it.**

Prelude

Fire….chaos...death.

It filled the night, engulfing everything with its merciless touch. War had reached the land of the small kingdom of Sanc: a innocent victim of human selfishness in a struggle of power.

The Sanc kingdom had kept itself away from the constant disputes the burned between the neighboring kingdoms, but its neutrality was bound to be broken and the peaceful country had ended up trapped in the crossfire between the cruel armies. Without a significative military force, the Sanc Royal family could do little but see the country fall in pieces. In a matter of hours the battle had reached the Crown City destroying everything that crossed its path.

The once beautiful kingdom of peace and hope was left reduced to scorched ruins, hellish flames and endless piles of corpses. The few survivors seeked refuge behind the walls of the royal palace. The royal family , naturally, offered the little security they could provide to their terrified people, but they were aware of their hopelessness.

Their white walls would soon fall and with it, its occupants would perish. In a desperate attempt of protecting the kingdoms most precious treasures, the queen Katerina enveloped the tiny body of her beloved daughter and put it in her oldest child arms.

"Milliard...my dear. Protect your sister. Don't look back as you run."

The blonde boy looked at his mother in despair. WIth only 4 years old, the young boy was way more understanding and mature than any child his age. He did not protest and silently rushed into the secret passage holding his sister against his chest. The entrance closed behind him and the last time he saw was the crying face of his dear mother.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hope you like it. Please R &R **

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam WIng.

Chapter1

"Good morning!"

The cheerful voice echoed in the room as a young blonde woman rushed inside shaking off the snow from her modest dress. Her pale cheeks tinted by a shy blush by the wind.

"Well, gad mornin' to you, too, Relena, dear." the chubby woman cleaning the table smiled with a barely toothless smile.

Ms. McGreville was the wife of the owner of the Timber Bells Pub. A kind lady in her late 40's with curly ginger hair and a face splattered by freckles. She was the closest figure to a mother that Relena had known.

"Ye're in early, lad. We 'ave no business 'til noon."

Relena smiled as she hung her coat and proceed to put on her working apron.

"With the snow that is falling, I might have no reached here unless I came in earlier, Ms. McGreville"

"Aye...winter 's hittin' us hard. Never seen so much white…" nodded the woman " 've ye eaten supper yet?"

"Just grabbed a bite on my way here."

"Awe...hat's right. 'Ere's a letter or ye…" the woman added picking a paper from under the counter "yer brother's ah 'elieve."

"My brothers!"

The blond girl ran to pick the letter with a smile. Her dear brother had been working with trading company and that had forced him to travel a lot, much to his reluctance. She knew he worried about leaving her young sister on her own for so long, but the job was well paid and the money was necessary.

" Good boy, yer brother is. Where 's he 'gain?"

"He's currently in Abheelasha " she replied " He must be busy, but yet he still writes to me."

Relena and her brother had lost her family when she had been very young. As kids, both of them had struggled to survive; it was pure luck that Mr. McGreville had casually stumbled with the pair during a rainy day. The couple had never been blessed with children of their own and they had easily welcomed the two orphans to their household. By the time her brother had turned on age,he found a job suitable to sustain his sister, but the girl had felt she had to help out with the expenses. She soon began working as serving maid in the McGreville's Pub despite her brothers unwillingness.

"So far…" the woman nodded.

"Indeed. So...what's in the menu for today?"

"We 'ave some apples for pies"

"I will start on it then!" the girl smiled as she headed into the kitchen.

Not far from there, a group of five men rode their horses into the crowded streets of The Strand. Despite the snowy weather, the streets were full of people minding their business: from buying to selling their goods, to simply gossiping.

"Brrrrrr…..England and its weather" one of the men cried out. He had long mahogany hair tied into a thick braid that was -now- rolled around his neck as if it was a scarf.

"I must admit…." another one said with a miserable smile "I miss the weather of my hometown now…"

"Ya bet? Out of the frying pan and into the freezer….brrrr"

"Perhaps we should consider finding a place to take a rest…" a man with dark brown hair styled so that it partially covered the side of his face suggested.

"Stopping now would put us behind schedule…" their asian companion growled, however, he was visibly annoyed by the weather as well.

The last of the five had restrained himself of making any comment, but his prussian eyes were methodically scouting their surroundings.

"There…." he finally said pointing at a modest pub that stood in a more secluded alley "We can spare some time to rest. The way has been long and the weather has not been helpful."

"THANK YOU" the braided man snapped as he promptly rode his horse to the small pub.

THe group led their horses to a proper place and once secured, they made their ways to the small establishment. It was relatively early, and the small pub was mostly empty but for two or three men sitting in a corner. It wasn't big, but it felt warm and cozy, and the whole room was filled with a enchanting smell of sweet apples and cinnamon.

"Aye….Welcome 'ood men!" the chubby woman greeted them as soon as they closed the doorway " 'ake yerselves at 'ome."

"Thank you very much" Quatre said between shivers.

The woman looked at him for a second and laughed.

"Awe….poor aul lad. Cold gettin' on ye? Come 'ere. Table by the firepalce should do!"

Quatre smiled gratefully as the chubby lady lead the group to a table close to the fire. THe five were soon relieved by the cozy warmth as they settled down.

"Should ah brin' ye ales or ye go 'or some'hin' stronger?"

"Ale should do, and some hot food." Heero replied simply.

"Uf course...we 'ave meat & potatoes today 'n let me tell ye our cook has heavenly hand."

"Meat and potatoes is fine." he nodded.

"...and how about a piece of whatever it is that smells like the gods…?" Duo said with glowing eyes earning a bitter glare from Wufei who sat across him.

The chubby lady laughed as she walked away.

"How hospitable…" Quatre smiled as he was starting to recover his color "It is rare to find so kind people nowadays…"

"She does it for business, Winner." Wufei stated matter of factly.

"Well, not all the hosts are so nice all the time…" Duo shrugged " Remember the old crazy lady we met in Brighton…"

"She might have not be that angry if you hadn't broken that table…" Trowa smirked.

"Now it was MY fault…"  
"It is always your fault, Maxwell." Wufei glared.

"Now, now….let us calm down. This place is nice…" Quatre said looking around. He was used to extravagance. His hometown was filled by it after all, this more modest and traditional decorations were new to him.

"Any idea where are we staying?" Trowa asked "It won't be nice run around searching for inns with this snow…"

"I guess we could ask this friendly lady for directions?" suggested Duo with a grin.

As if summoned, the chubby lady came up holding five pints of ale and put them on the table.

" Ere ye are, five pints of good ale. Yer food will 'ome soon…"

"Thank you very much…" smiled Quatre "Madam, we wanted to ask you something…"

"Aye….what's the craic?"

"We are travelers, you see. We were wondering if there was any good inn close by…"

"Ye 'ave luck on yer side. We 'ave rooms up 'ere if ye want 'em."

"Really? Well I guess that would be really practical, don't you think Heero?"

"Hn…"

"Ye want the rooms 'hen?"

"Yes, madam. We'll take them…" Quatre smiled.

"Very well. I'll get 'em ready. Ye can get up after yer meal."

At her words a young blond girl appeared with a tray. She smiled at the men with a mix of politeness and shyness as she set the plates in front of each. Heero noticed curiously that the girl seemed almost to refined to be working in a pub and if in other garments, she could have easily been a lady of the court.

"AH this is incredible…" Duo cried out.

"You are probably famished, that's why…" Wufei snapped at him.

"Actually, it is really good." Quatre said "the meat is well cooked: not to raw neither overcooked. You were not lying about your cook, madam."

"I told ye, didn't ah?" the woman laughed "'His child hand in the kitchen has no rival"

Heero noticed that the woman was patting the blond girls back kindly. She merely smiled in embarrassment as a small blush was running up her cheeks.

"I am glad you like it, gentlemen." she said softly.

"You are the cook?" Trowa asked and the girl nodded "Younger than expected…impresive."

"She's a woman. Aren't they supposed to learn to cook for when they are wed?" Wufei said taking a sip of his ale "what is so impressive about that?"

"Don't mind that man's words" Duo said "He's like that all the time and don't feel offended or anything…"  
"It is alright " she replied shaking her head "He is right after all. Most girls of my ages should probably be married by now."

"So you are …?" Duo asked curiously.

"I am afraid no…" she replied shyly "I am in no condition for marriage after all."

"Awe… Lena will find 'erself a good suitor one of 'his days. She's a lovely child after all."

"So your name is Lena…" Heero muttered.

"Oh...my bad. Where are my manners? I am Relena Dorian."

Heero just nodded, but his -more chatting- friend was soon at it.

"Well nice to meet you, Ms. Dorian. My name is Duo Maxwell, these three over here are Trowa Barton, Wufei Chang and Heero Yuy."

"And I am Quatre Raberba Winner…"

"Oh….Raberba Winner? You are from the east, from Albeelasha…"

"Oh, how…?"

"My brother. He is currently visiting the country due to his work…" she replied.

"Is that so?" Quatre laughed " We are a very mixed group after all…"

"I could tell…" Relena smiled.

"You could?" Duo asked curiously "How come?"

" It's not hard...your names betrays you, and if not the way you speak does."

"Smart girl…" Duo laughed "I like her…"

"Well, I am afraid I have intruded for too long. Enjoy your meal gentlemen…"

Relena made a polite bow before leaving with the landlady. Heero's prussian eyes followed her as she disappeared behind the counter.

"Someone took liking to that girl beside me…" Duo snickered "your type Heero? Never saw you stare at a female before…"

Heero glared at his friend. It was true he wasn't one to pay much attention to women, but something about that young lady had been...attracting.

"I am just curious…" he replied.

"Curious? Well...90% of the times that's how it starts" the braided man laughed " She's nice. Better than that aristocrat lady that has been chasing you around all these years…"

"Ah….you mean Lady Noventa?" Quatre asked "She does seem interested in you, Heero."

Heero could have rolled his eyes. He knew of the young lady Noventa's interest in him. He wasn't as naive to not notice her attempts, but he was not interested. He was no fool and he was well aware that eventually he would have to take up a wife. Miss Noventa, however, was not in his list if he ever got one.

"She's too plain…." Duo said waving his hand in front of his face in dismissal " Heero wouldn't be happy in such a marriage. She's not his type…"

"Oh, and what exactly is Heero's type then?" Trowa asked with a hint of fun.

The braided man rubbed his chin in thought.

"For beginners, probably not an aristocrat "he laughed " not self centered nor spoiled. Probably a lady that is smart and gives him some fight…"

"You sound convinced…"

"Well...perhaps I am. I think Heero would just get bored with any simple court lady. Believe me, I know about this things…"

"And you know because…?"

"Heh...just admit it...between the five of us. I am the most experienced in love."


	3. Chapter 2

**I must admit I am having fun writing this. It is somehow challenging to try to keep them mostly in character while keeping them inside the time frame.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter. R &R if you may. Reviews are always welcomed.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gundam Wing.**

Chapter II

Heero woke up feeling warm; a great improvement from the poor conditions they had slept in the past weeks during their trip to London. His room, just like the rest of the establishment, was modest: a small fireplace, a bed, a table and a wardrobe. The essentials for living, as he saw it. He rose from the bed and looked out the blizzard covered window. The mist made the city look ghostly.

They had an important meeting today at the Royal Palace, but their meeting wasn't till noon and he should probably used the time to rest from the long journey, but Heero was an early bird and once awoken, he could hardly try to sleep again. His companions, with the exception of Wufei perhaps, were probably enjoying the comfort and warmth of their beds.

Pretty much giving up the idea of sleeping, the man got out of bed and dressed up. He wasn't surprised to find the pub empty. It was barely 6 in the morning, after all. What did surprised him was to find a blond girl sitting in one of the tables writing something.

Heero cleared his throat to make his presence noticed and soon the girl's big teal eyes were staring at him in surprise. She then smiled and bowed her head politely.

"Mr. Yuy, good morning. You are an early riser, I see…"

"I could say the same of you, miss Dorian" he replied "mind if I take seat?"

"No at all. May I offer you a cup of tea?"

He simply nodded as he pulled out the chair and the girl rushed to prepare him a cup. Not long after, a steamy cup of the amber liquid had been set in front of him.

"Milk and sugar?"

"It is fine like this. Thank you"

Relena smiled at him and sat down once more returning to her writing.

"May I inquire what are you writing?"

"A letter of course." she replied without rising her head "To my brother…"

Her brother. She had mentioned him yesterday. Silence fell between them once more. He wasn't the talkative type and the young lady was busy with her writing. He noticed the fluent movements of her quill as she scribbled over the piece of paper and intrigue filled his mind.

This young lady was educated, it was unlikely that a simple cook would receive proper education since it was restricted to higher classes. That was something he had found quite interesting.

"You are not a man of many words, are you Mr. Yuy?" she said turning to him.

"No, I am not. Besides, I didn't want to interrupt your writing."

"I can write and talk at the same time. Do not worry…" she giggled " Did you find your room comfortable?"

Heero sipped his tea quitely. She was simply trying to make conversation and usually he found that extremely annoying.

"It was good enough…"

"Good enough, but not good…" she whispered " I am sure you must have slept in worse place, however. Am I wrong?"

"And why would you think that?"

"Oh, by mere observation."

"Oh, care to elaborate?"

"Well, yesterday for example…" she said shyly, but he noticed a small spark in her eyes " You and your companions wore damp coats covered in both snow and mud suggesting long hours under this precarious weather, the tint of blue indicated more hours than you probably liked, which could only mean you and your companions had been traveling for hours if not days. The posture and tension on your bodies showed lack of good proper rest, and the dark under your eyes, sir, it was pretty obvious that you hadn't had a good night of rest. Today however, you look much more relaxed, sir, which I can only guess is due a good night of rest."

Heero was impressed, in fact. He had not expected her to du such accurate guesses by only looking at them.

"You're quite observant…"

"So I've been told before. Perhaps more observant than I should…" she shrugged "It has helped me out a couple time, however."

"I wonder what use could a young lady like you have for that skill."

"More than skill, sir. I would call it instinct. I lets me know when I should probably run away…" she said with a smile "the streets are not always safe for a woman like me after all."

"So that is how your learned?"

"It helped...but no, I think my brother is to be blamed. He has alway been protective of me, so he made sure to teach me to see the smaller things, if you know what I mean."

"Well...you must be a handful for your parents then."

"Perhaps I would have been…" she replied absently "I am afraid I never had the chance to meet my parents…" she added seeing his quizzical look.

An orphan, most likely raised by her brother. It made sense, but at the same time gave him more questions.

"I am sorry to hear that…"

"It is all right…" she said shaking her head "What about you Mr. Yuy? I doubt your coming to London obeys to recreational purposes."

"Why not? I might have wanted to explore London."

"At this season? I am afraid you will miss most of the pretty views."

Heero lips twitched in a vague smile. She was sharp, perhaps he should start distrusting this young lady, however, to his surprise, her company was almost...pleasant.

"Ah… it's almost time to break fast. Any special request, Mr. Yuy?"

"The regular menu should do, Ms. Dorian"

Relena put her letter into her apron's pocket and walked into the kitchen leaving the young man on his own once more. However his solitude was soon to be broken as soft snicker resounded from the stairs. Heero turned to the origin of the sound with a raised eyebrow just to find Quatre and Duo snooping from the stairs. The braided man was visibly amused.

"See...told you she his YOUR type." he laughed "When did you ever see the almighty Heero Yuy stand more than 2 minutes of conversation with a female? Those were almost 15 minutes..."

"Maxwell…" Heero glared at his friend.

"I am surprised though…" Quatre smiled " You are not one to enjoy conversation with people you barely know…"

" It was a productive and interesting conversation. Perhaps one with much more sense than any conversation I had ever have with Maxwell…"

"Hey, that is mean…" Duo replied faking indignation "I will let it pass since you basically admitted that you enjoyed that conversation. A conversation with a stranger that happens to be a lady, nevertheless…"

"Maxwell...drop it. Save your talking for the job."

"That is asking for a miracle…" Wufei irritated voice sounded from the stairs as he came down followed by Trowa " what time is the meeting?"

"An hour pass noon." Quatre replied " It is early, so we still have time to spare."

"Maybe we should try to go….see the views" Duo said with a grin eyeing Heero meaningfully.

"That would be a complete waste of time…" Wufei said glaring at the man.

"But it would be a pity not to do some sightseeing…" Quatre said. Of course he would feel tempted to look around, he was, after all, from a foreign country and this was his first time in London.

"We can see around on our way to the palace. Don't worry about it Quatre." Heero replied.

"Do we know how to reach there? I am sure we could get us an _enjoyable_ guide if not." Duo smiled mischievously.

"You couldn't possibly mean…."

"Oh…!" the soft groan of surprised made the five men turn around. Relena was standing with was most likely Heero's breakfast in her hands. She soon recovered and smiled at her guests "I guess you're all early risers. Good thing I've prepared enough breakfast for all."

"You are an angel…" Duo winked at her " Why don't you eat with us?"

"A very kind offer, Mr. Maxwell, but I am afraid I will have to declined."

Relena smiled brightly and left for their so called food.

Their ride to the royal palace went without major complications besides the weather and clumsy passer-by's. The group was well received at the palace and were soon conducted to hall in the palace western wing. Heero stood still, his senses attentive to any suspicious move. His companions were interested in their own business, too: Quatro was admiring the halls decor; Duo had taken a comfortable -perhaps way too comfortable- seat on the couch, Wufei was glaring at the guards and Trowa was pacing in front of one of the grand windows.

"Gentlemen…"

Heero raised his look as man wearing a dark blue suit entered the hall. Heero's sharp eyes examined their new arrival with caution. He was naturally distrustful to the point that Duo claimed him to be paranoid.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Treize Khushrenada, Prime Minister. I appreciate your fast answer to my summoning. May I offer you a cup of tea?"

"No need, this is not social gathering." Wufei said visibly annoyed.

"Ah...impatient, aren't we? Let us get to business then. Gentlemen, I must make you aware that the matter we are about to discuss must be handled with caution and extreme secrecy."

"Confidentiality is part of our jobs, sir. Rest assure" Trowa replied before Wufei could retorth with any rude comment.

"I trust your word, gentlemen. I have good reference of your work, otherwise I would have not summoned you today." Treize's look travelled from each of the present men "The king has fallen sick. I am afraid that his illness is a severe one and he might not have much time left. Unfortunately, your highness lack of heir has caused serious discord in the court. According to protocol, the next in line would his niece: Eliina Peacecraft, daughter of the kings late cousin Katerina who was wed to the prince of Sanc years ago."

"Sanc? Wasn't that place destroyed during the warfare?" Duo said with a frown.

"Indeed. Until now we believed the princess to have perished along her family in that tragic night however, it was...revealed by one of the survivors, the head of the household, that the young princess and the prince were safely relocated before the final attack reached the palace."

"So the princess is alive…supposedly…"

"If the old man is correct, she is. Your task at hand now is finding the princess's whereabouts…"

"That's...all?"

"Did you expect something more Mr. Maxwell…"

"Nah, just clarifying."

"Be assure that your compensation for your services will be generous, gentlemen. Do we have a deal?"

The five men exchange looks and nodded.

"Mission accepted."


	4. Chapter 3

**Slightly shorter chapt.**

 **Hope you are enjoying it and finding the story catching enough.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own GUndam WIng.**

Chapter III

If there was something that Relena had learned with the years, it was to be cautious when she visited the market place regardless of the hour. She had learned the hard way when she had been younger. There was a dark side in the market that was often hard to avoid if you were a child or young lady of no social status.

Mrs. McGreville was never very thrilled about sending her to do the pub's shopping, but sometimes it was unavoidable. With five new guests in the inn, restocking on supplies was a necessity.

"That should be enough. I shall better head back now and start on the evening supper…"

"Why the rush? It is still pretty early…"

Relena let out a tortuous sigh as an arm came to block her path. Thomas Harrington, the head of one of the many gangs that lurked around the boroughs of London. A mean that she personally found disgusting.

"It's still pretty early. I am sure your food could wait. Besides...I could give you more money and fun than that pathetic job of yours. Let's have some fun…"

"I am afraid you concept of fun and mine are far too distant." she replied bitterly and tried to pass over his extended arm.

"Then maybe I should teach you MY concept of fun…"he said near her ear as his hand moved dangerously down her back. The disgusting smell of alcohol from his breath making her sick.

"I am not interested of learning it…"

"I am just trying to make this pleasant for both...there's no need to make it harder."

"Like I said...I am not interested…"

"I heard your brother is out of the country...is not good for a woman to be on her own with out a man taking care of her…"

"I am perfectly fine on my own...now if you would excuse me."

Before she could react Thomas was already pinning her painfully against the wall. She could barely breathe with the pressure and the stench of his breath.

"Like I said….there's no need to make it the hard way…"

Relena tried to struggle, but her physical constitution was not useful. Thomas was a large man and strong. Force was certainly useless for her, but if she wanted to keep her dignity intact she needed to come up with a plan, and soon.

She felt his arm starting to raise her skirt and making use of his distraction, she raised her knee with all her strength and landed a straight hit into his crotch. Thomas let out a howl of pain and without thinking it twice Relena ran off as fast as she could. It wasn't long before she heard the shouts from Thomas lackeys behind her and as smart as she was, she was certainly in disadvantage.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she missed the group of horses that was riding across the street and made a direct impact against one of them.

"For God's sake woman! Look where you are running!" an angry and yet slightly familiar voice yelled at.

Relena raised her head from where she had fallen and found the black annoyed eyes of the the chinese guest known as Wufei.

"Dear heaven, are you alright Ms. Dorian?" a more gentle voice asked in concern, Quatre.

Well luck seemed to be on her side after all. Before she could come up with an answer she felt someone pulling her back at her feet. THe touch was strong but gently and she was surprised to find a pair of prussian eyes checking her for injuries.

"It is not very reasonable to be running blindly into a busy street, don't you think?" he said raising an eyebrow. She caught a subtle hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh….it is reasonable when you are running away from a gang of inmoral men…"

"THERE SHE IS…"

Relena looked behind her in alarm and Heero saw her turn slightly pale. A group of men were heading their way, one of them seemed had an evident look of discomfort and pain as he ran.

"Friends of yours?"

"Well...it will depend of what you may call friends, sir." she replied with a hint of irony.

"You bloody dollymop (1)…."

"Woah easy, fella!" Duo interrupted jumping down his horse "watch your mouth in front of the lady…"

"So these are you regulars?" Thomas growled in angrily "so now you are greater horizontal (2)?"

"All right buddy...you're getting a little too rude now." Duo glared at him "show more respect, would you?"

"Hah...as if that dollymop deserved any kind of respect…"

"From where I stand, I don't see see why she shouldn't." Heero said glaring intensely at the offender making him halt a little.

He recovered enough to take a brave step at Heero, but before he could attempt anything a loud whistle cut the air. The metropolitan police must had heard the ruckus.

"You got lucky this time….tch." with that last remark, Thomas and his gang fled the place.

Relena let out a loud sigh as she dropped to the ground once more. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and all the recklessness and bravery she had felt minutes earlier were gone. She took a few minutes to composed herself and let her breathing calm down, but when she raised her face she found Heero kneeling in front of her with quizzical look.

"Thank you…"she said in a whisper and she nodded.

"Geez what rude fella…." Duo said annoyed "Men like him put our genre in a bad position, I tell you. He didn't do anything bad to you, did he, missy?"

"No, but perhaps I should have used a little more strength when I kicked him. I didn't expect him to be able to run..."

Duo stared at her dumbfounded and she shrugged. Suddenly the braided man brust into a loud laugh accompanied by s soft snicker from the other men on their horses.

"You are one special lady…."

"What can I say, I can be bricky girl sometimes…"

"Well. good thing you're not hurt, missy. Need a ride?"

"Wouldn't want to interrupt your little stroll …"

"Hardly. We were heading back, anyway." Heero replied offering her his hand, which she accepted.

"So….where do we start?" Duo asked staring at his companions "For all we know, the target, if she's indeed alive, could be anywhere."

"According to the information given, they are convinced she is in London." Trowa said "Whether this information is trustworthy or not, we don't know, but it is a lead."

"And there is no point looking around Sanc. The place no longer exists…" Wufei added.

"We should question the head of the Peacecraft household. He was the one who reveled the target's fate, so we might get valuable information from him." Heero said matter of factly "Quatre and Trowa , you two handle that."

"Very well, Heero…"

"What about us?" Duo asked.

"I will take a look in the police archives to see if I can find anything useful."Wufei replied.

"In the meantime we will review the information that the royals provided us." Heero added.

"Ah...why did I get to do the boring part? Have you seen the size of that book?"

"Take it as a chance to broaden your knowledge, Duo." Quatre suggested.

"I doubt he can learn anything else…" Wufei mumbled.

"I heard that !"

Duo was about to start at Wufei, but beside he could get over the table a hand held a plate with a warm piece apple tart in front of his face.

"We didn't order that…" Trowa observed.

"I know…" Relena replied with faint smile as she set the rest of the plates and a cup of tea for each man "it's a token of gratitude. It's the only thing I can offer…"

"You didn't have to…" Heero stated.

"And yet my conscience would have never given me peace if I didn't."

"Thank you miss Dorian." Quatre smiled.

"So it seems my assumption was correct after all…" she said tilting her head as she stared the buncho of papers on the table.

"What assumption?" Trowa asked curiously.

"You are not here for the views…" she smiled as she walked away.

The five men stared at her back slightly shocked.

"I agree with you Duo… she's definitely Heero's type…" Quatre chuckled.

(1) Dollymop: an amateur or part-time prostitute

(2)great horizontal : high-class prostitute to the rich

(3) Bricky: brave


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello! Here's another update. I hope people are enjoying this story so far. Unfortunately I haven't received any feed back :( and hopefully someone will be reviewing one of these days.**

 **This chapter is yet to be readproofed. Yet I wanted to share it. Hope you enjoy it.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don not own Gundam Wing.**

Chapter IV

"We are getting nowhere with this…" Duo snapped out in frustration as he slammed his head on the table.

It'd been two weeks since their meeting with the Prime Minister and so far they had gotten no significant leads on their "case". Trowa and Quatre had visited the head of the Peacecraft household a couple of times, an old man named Pagan; but the man couldn't tell them more than what they already knew and so their investigation had fallen into a dead end,

"Aye m'boy...ye goin' t hurt yer handsome face 'ike hat" Mrs. McGreville said pouring them a new round of tea cups.

After two weeks of staying at the Timber Bells, the five men had become pretty much familiar to the pub workers. The McGreville's were nice and jovial, but Mr. McGreville was rarely at the place and most of the Pub's business was ran by his was also a young boy who came and went regularly: slim, black headed and usually wearing clothes covered in sooth. Mrs. McGreville called him the "errand lad" and then there was Relena.

Heero had taken the habit of waking up early in the morning just to share a cup of tea with the young cut before the rest of the guest woke up to break their fast. Amazingly, he realized that he actually enjoyed this short periods of chatting. Their topics of conversation were variable: a book, a place they had visited or even a friendly game of analysis, He particularly found the last one enjoyable. Relena was pretty cunning and she could easily keep up with his rhythm. His companions liked her too and he found amazing how easily she had gained their esteem. Even Wufei seemed to like her...in his own way.

"My handsome face won't help us solve this…" Duo groaned miserably.

"Just wha' n' earth 're ye workin' at…? Ye shouln' be 'ere burnin' yer heads...go out…'ave ome fun…"

"We are not here to have fun…" Wufei stated irritated.

"Indeed we are not…." Heero replied without raising his head. He'd been staring on that city map for hours now.

"'Hat 're ye looking for? Perhaps we may 'elp…" Mrs. McGrevilles offered kindly.

Quatre was the one to answer with a grateful smile; but there was no way they could help.

"You should take on the offer…" Relena said standing by Heero's chair.

The pub was pretty empty that afternoon. With the blizzard hitting outside, most people were probably staying in their homes so they pretty much had the whole salon for themselves. Heero turned to her with raised eyebrow and a skeptical look to which she responded with gentle smile. She still had some spots of flour from her bread making earlier and he had to swallow a chuckle.

"You are very kind, but we don't think you could help…" Trowa answered for him.

"Why not? You are certainly searching for something...and you barely know the city. I am sure we could help in something. Words travel fast in the lower worlds of London. Whatever you are looking for, there's probably someone who knows about it."

"Neh...actually, let me ask you something missy…." Duo began but was cut off by Wufei's glare "What? We don't lose anything by trying anyway. We can't get more stuck than now…"

Wufei was certainly annoyed by the remark, but he didn't protest as the braided man turned back to the blonde cook.

"Ask away, Mr. Maxwell…"

"I told you, it's Duo...D..u...o….anyway. We are looking for a person….let's say a ...refugee from war, maybe?"

"Well...there are a lot of refugees living in London. Most of us live in the lower districts since most arrived to the city without anything" Relena shrugged.

"Wait...Ms. Dorian...did you say... _us_?"

"My brother and I came to London as refugees. I was too young to remember, but he told me. We lost everything during the war and ended up in London with the rest of the refugees. Thankfully, Mrs. and Mr. McGreville helped us out then."

"I had no idea…" Quatre said surprised and slightly saddened "I am so sorry…"

"Don't be…" she replied shaking her head "It is long in the past, so you're searching for a refugee?Do you have a name?"

" No use for it. She probably goes by another name now." Wufei sighed.

"It is a lady then…"

"Yup, probably around are ages…and arrived here around 12 years ago…" added Duo " not that it helps to know that last part…"

Relena tilted her head in thought.

"She grew up here then. There's a high chance she was employed in one of the factories…"

"Employed?" Trowa asked.

"She would had needed to survive now? As refugees it was either work or steal…"

"That's terrible…" Quatre seemed horrified at the idea "Did you…?"

"For a while yes…" she replied " We both did. My brother and I, I mean. Most families had no choice but send their children to work and others...well, let's say they didn't have the option to decide. Either way...it is most likely that the person you are looking for is living somewhere in the Damps…"

"The Damps?"

"It's one of the poorer areas…" observed Heero signaling a spot in the map.

"Yes, but it isn't that bad. At least it isn't a gang frequented area...so most of the refugee families settled there…"

"You sound awfully familiar to the place…" Trowa commented raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I am. There's where I grew up…" Relena smiled sadly "and well..it is where I live."

"Wait a second...you live there?" Duo asked with wide eyes "I just assumed you lived here. I mean you are always here…!"

Relene just shrugged at his comment.

"Anyway...I will ask around if you want…."

"I believe it will be better if we do that ourselves…" Heero said "Would you mind taking us there?"

"Not at all…"

"It's settled then. We shall pay a visit to the Damps tomorrow." Heero said rolling up the map and looking at the blond cook. Their eyes locked for a moment and she nodded.

"Well… I say we call it a day. Let us have some fun for the rest of the evening, shall we?" Duo suggested stretching his arms "missy, how about some ales?"

"Ales on their way…" she smiled.

The blizzard only worsened as the night fell. No sane creature would have thought of wandering in the dark streets of the city under this weather, but to some, there was not other choice. Once the night settled, the crowd and noises from the working classes would come to an end just be replaced by the other face of the coin. The workers of the night, as some called them: prostitutes, gangs…

Certainly, patrolling the dark alleys of London was not a pleasant job, but as a member of the Metropolitan police, it was his duty to assure the safety of the city. He was proud of his job, but that didn't make the night duties any less...unpleasant.

The middle aged guard sighed as he made his rounds through the practically deserted alley. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; just another cold and silent night. He turned around the corner and his steps got caught on the cobbles stones making him trip right on his face. The guard cursed in annoyance as he pushed up himself catching on a unpleasant smell.

He picked up his lamp and lit the snow covered ground. His eye wide as sauce pans as he pulled out his whistle and blew it as loud as he could.

A body laid over the snow: its clothes torn; its flesh covered by cuts and a pool of blood freezing under it creating a grotesque picture under the dim light of the gas lamps. A single piece of paper laid forgotten over its chest; red words written in blood:

 _Let the hunt for the royals begin._


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello again. I hope you are enjoying the story. The stats of this story has gone up a bit, that makes happy. I don't usually ask for reviews but I really want to know if it is going the right way so please...leave a revies :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gundam Wing.**

Chapter V

Relena found her way blocked by a large crowd that morning; something that she certainly found strange. Not many people walked around that side of the city at this hour and even less under this terrible weather, however a considerably group of people had grouped in the middle of the alley. She let out a frustrated sigh as she struggled to get pass the mass of people.

"...horrible…"

"Scary...who would do such a thing?"

Relena frowned as she caught small pieces of the peoples comments. After a minute of struggle, she managed to catch a glimpse of what was beyond the sea of people and lump got caught in her throat. The snow covering the ground was splattered by blood and a group of black suited guards were kneeling over a torn body. Relena was not afraid of blood, between her cooking job and her frequent visits to the butcher house, she could say she was immune to it, but the scene made her slightly sick.

A murder. A person had been killed a few steps from her own home and he felt a little sting of fear hit her. The Damps was not a fancy place, and many of its inhabitants had dubious jobs, but they had never had anything like this happening in their district. A shiver ran down her spine as she made her way through the crowd and into the main street completely unaware of the pair of eyes the followed her movements.

* * *

Heero walked down the stairs expecting to see the usual blond girl sitting quietly in the empty pub, but to his surprise, the girl was not there. The man frowned. She was usually earlier than him, so he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Why am I worrying about her anyway…" the mumbled shaking his head. Maybe she had just slept in, it wasn't impossible.

But what if she had slept in because she was sick… Heero tried to recall the girl's image from last night. She didn't seem sick, maybe a little paler than she usually was and maybe a little tired; but not sick. The man with the prussian eyes shook head. Why was he even thinking about her?

He was still juggling with his ideas when the sound of the door closing made him snap. He looked up and a small smile appeared in his lips.

Relena stood in the entrance shaking off the snowflakes from her coat and hair. Her blond hair was tied in a modest bun, but some of locks fell lose over her face, her cheeks were visibly flushed and contrasting against her pale skin and judging by her erratic breathing she must had run all her way there. Heero noticed how small and thin she looked under the massive coat that she wore.

He walked down the stairs silently and smirked when the woman didn't notice his proximity.

"ah...just what a way to start the day..."she sighed.

"Bad morning?"

"Bad would be an understatement..."she said "I..."

Relena suddenly noticed his presence and he swallowed a smirk when her face blushed in embarrassment.

"Good morning…" he said politely and he barely managed to refrain a smirk when he saw the woman jump.

"Mr. Yuy! You scared me!" she sighed as she hung her coat in a corner behind the stairs and walked to put up the fire of the fireplace trying to push away her blush "I am awfully delayed this morning. I will start up the fire in a minute…"

"Don't worry about it. Do you need help?"

"Oh, dear lord, no. I could never ask a guest to do such a dirty work…" she giggled "There...much better. I wouldn't want you to be frozen dead, Mr. Yuy…"

"Heero…"

"Uh? What did you say?"

"You can call me Heero. No need to be so formal." he replied kneeling by her side as he watched the flames dancing between the logs.

Relena stared at him slightly shocked, but she immediately recovered and smiled at him charmingly.

"Then...I propose you a deal. I will call you by your name and exchange you may call me by mine. Do we have a deal?"

"It is a fair deal, _Relena_ "

"Fair enough... _Heero."_

Both let out a soft chuckle. Heero looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She was laying slightly over knees as she threw another log into the fire, her lips were curved in a gentle smile and her teal eyes glittered with the light of the fire.

"I don't think being late is one of your habits, did something happen?"

"I don't fancy being late…" she admitted "but I suppose it couldn't be helped this time. There was an...incident on my way here."

"Incident?" he asked and she caught up a hint of worry in his voice.

"It wasn't about me. I don't know the details, but...they found a body close to the Damps…"

"A body?"

"Yes, the Metropolitan Police was looking over the place…"

"Does that happen often?"

"Uh...well…"

He never got to hear her answer as a loud knock on the door interrupted them. Relena face contorted in a frown. She pushed herself up and walked to the door. Heero watched the woman eyes grow wide as she spoke to the person at the door, a few minutes later she returned to his side with a piece of paper in her hand.

"It is a letter for you… from the palace."

* * *

"He's ...dead?" Duo groaned with wide eyes now fully awake.

After Heero had read the letter he had stomped up the stairs leaving a very shocked Relena in the empty room, and woken his companions. They had certainly groaned and complained about the hour, but the intensity of Heero's look persuade them to get up at once.

The old head of the Peacecraft household had been found dead this morning in gruesome conditions. His body was discovered by policeman that was doing his rounds in the western side of the Strand, not to far from where they stayed.

"They found him head early this morning." Heero nodded " with a note…"

"A note?" Quatre said surprised.

"It was premeditated…" Wufei said .

"Mr. Pagan lived completely at the other side of the city. There's no way he would have been walking at that place at that hour. "Trowa reasoned.

"Trowa is correct. Nothing suggest it to be an accidental murder, so the most obvious cause was intentional murder." Heero said seriously " and I doubt the victim election was random…"

"Heero...you don't think…."Quatre began " that his murder could be related to our case, do you?"

"Right now I can do nothing, but speculate, Quatre. We received permission from the Prime Minister to check on it. Wufei and Trowa, you two go the Scotland Yard and see what information they can provide us. The rest of us will go the crime scene and take a look."

"Hey...this is the place that missy was talking about yesterday, isn't it?" Duo observed.

"The Damps, yes."

"Geez...we just get a lead on our target and then one of our prime witnesses appears dead a few steps from the place? What the hell?" Duo groaned.

"Duo is right. I don't think the place was random either."

"Like I said, right now we can only speculate. The Prime Minister agree with us that this incident may be related to the princess, otherwise he wouldn't have given us access to the case details…"

"Damn…"

"You said there was a note there…" Wufei asked "What did it say…?"

" Let the hunt of the royals begin…"

"The hunt of the what?"

"Royals...does it mean...the royal family perhaps?" Quatre said rubbing his chin.

"It is a possibility. The question is...what royal family?" Trowa nodded.

"We will have to find out. If our suspicion is correct, the princess may be in great danger…"


	7. Chapter 6

**New chap up.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own GW.**

Chapter VI

Heero walked around the alley studying the scene with his piercing look. Duo and Quatre were looking at the body not too far from where he stood.

"The amount of blood is significative…" Quatre said "and the lacerations and haematomas in the body indicate perimortem damage. I believe...I believe he was dragged here alive and then killed…"

"Dragged an old man all the way across the city just to dump him in a deserted alley and play the butcher man...that's sick…" Duo said bitterly.

" The alley is narrow...I don't think a carriage would have been able to pass through here. The culprit must have carried him all the way here by foot."

"Someone must have seen them. I'll go ask around…" Duo offered and walked away from the scene.

Heero turned back to Quatre who was now busy examining the body. The blonde man seemed lost in thought.

"The cuts were cleanly done. The assassin used a very sharp knife; a small one if we consider the diameter of the cause of dead...extreme blood loss due to injuries on major organs. Poor man. He was a gentle person and he really wanted us to find the princess…"

"Well it seems there's a high chance someone doesn't want us to find her, if our guesses are right. Did you find anything else on the body?"

"Mmmm…no, but the cuts were done methodically, I think. I mean...it follow a certain pattern."

"A pattern...you say?"

"I am not sure what could it mean...but see this? Those are three cuts to this direction, then four to the left and one across, also these smaller ones all over his limbs. I don't think it is random…"

"You are right, it is too neat to be natural…" Heero agreed "I was looking around. The body's location is pretty close to the wall, but I did not find any traces of blood on it. All the blood seems to spread on ground level. Pagan did not fight his attacker…"

"You are right...there are no signs of struggle. I can't confirm it without proper testing, but he may have been drugged before hand."

"I believe that's most likely the case. The attacker was movements were clean and almost flawless…"

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen a scene like this one before. This may be a professional, Heero. Do you really think this could be related to..."

"I don't know."

Heero looked around the alley surrounded by ramshackled houses. Compared to the rest of the city the Damps was pity looking.

"Relena said this was refugee's land…"

Quatre was a little surprised by Heero using the pub maiden's name instead of the usual Ms. Dorian. He wasn't a man who would easily treat other people with such a familiarity, but somehow the stoic man had forged a bond with that singular lady. The blonde man smiled.

"She did. She lives in this area, too...right? We should warn her, we still don't know what's the plan behind this murder, but we can claim that there's a possibility that this is all made by a psychopath and he may be around.

"Hn…" he nodded." I will take a look on the surroundings. I will leave the body to your judgment…"

Heero made his way through pass the barricades that had been set around the area. He stood quietly in the center of the alleys with hands tucked inside the pockets of his coat. His prussian eyes studied the surroundings focusing in every small detail. The alley was short, with dead ends at both sides and only two possible entries/exits. A small road at the lef that most likely lead to the residential area of the Damps. The thought brought the image of a certain blonde lady to his head, but he quickly dismissed it. The other road lead to the main street.

The alley wasn't part of most traveled routes so unless you had business there or were heading to the residential area, you wouldn't need to pass through it. It was a good place to commit a murder since it was secluded and nobody would really find the body that fast, he reasoned. Then again, London was filled by many other alleys like this one with even better conditions to hide a body, so why this one?

He walked out to the main street and looked around in thought. The snow would have covered any kind of track left by the attacker's carriage and even if it hadn't, with the amount of vehicles that crossed the area, it would have been useless information.

As he walked back to the alley growling in irritation he caught a glimpse of something across of him.A man, that he found slightly familiar, was standing against a wall. He seemed oblivious to Heero's attention, but there was something off about his demeanor as he stared at the crime scene with a slight hint of amusement in his look. He was trying to figure where had he seen this man before and then it came to him. Days ago he had met him in the streets of London, at the time he had been limping and in pain as he chased after the woman who had hit him.

" ...gangs don't really visit the area. There's nothing that could be of use to them in the Damps…" Relena's voice echoed in his head. That had been her answer when they had asked her if there was any kind of criminal group that could be related to the Damps, but that man was there and he knew, from many sources now, that he was a known member from a particularly problematic gang.

"I asked all the people that were around last night. No one heard nor saw anything" . In fact, nobody had seen the victim around here before." Duo's voice interrupted his thoughts as he stopped by his side and watched the scene with dislike "I didn't need to use much of my persuasion skills, these people were willingly giving me all the information they knew. They are all freaked out..."

"Hn…" he replied looking back at the crowd. The man was long gone.

"Did Quatre find anything useful with the body?"

"Yes, but we'll need to look into it to see if it makes any sense…"

"I don't know my friend, but something in my gut tells me this was not any random murder and that he might have been targeted because of what he knew about you know what…"

"Hn… Let us meet up with Wufei and Trowa. I would like to take a look at Mr. Pagan's quarters…"

"Sounds fair...I'll get Quatre."

* * *

Wufei and Trowa sat at table in the Scotland Yard office. The guards kept sending them reproachful looks as the two males looked through the bunch of papers scattered over the polished surface. They had been adamant to show the case details to a couple of strangers, but they had not option since the two men had a legitimate authorization from the royal palace.

Trowa was reading the documents in silence while Wufei, visibly irritated, staring at some of the pictures taken at the scene. He hadn't met the old man since the ones who conducted his questioning were Quatre and Trowa, but from what he read, he was nothing but an old man. A lone survivor of an attack on the Sanc kingdom during a crossfire between Romefeller and Englian troupes. He had lost everything on that night and had barely made it back to London where he was taken in by the family of his queen. He was no wealthy, he did receive a generous allowance for his former services as the Peacecraft's head of house, but it was nothing to be target of murder. He had no political roles and beside the fact that he was the lone witness of the Prince and Princess supposedly alive status, there was really nothing more about the man that could be considered important.

"I guess Heero is probably right about this…" Trowa said eyeing his chinese companion "All points to it, so far…"

Wufei did not answer. His eyes were now locked on the small piece of paper that had been retrieved from the body. The red letter had now turned dark brown and he felt disgusted.

"Let the hunt of the royals begin…" he mumbled "Just what the hell is that suppose to mean?"

* * *

The five men met at the Timber Bells by tea time. They were visibly tense, as Relena noticed; their face were too serious and even the everlasting grin over Mr. Maxwell's face was nowhere to be seen at the moment. The air surrounding them felt heavy and colder than usual and she could tell that something very bad was haunting their guests minds.

She had grown fond of the men and their grave demeanor had her slightly worried. She would have liked to ask, but then again, she was only the maid servant of the pub they were staying and she had no right to pry in their business.

Relena took a deep breath and as she walked her way to their table with a teapot and fresh baked biscuits and scones. The men barely acknowledge her presence with a soft thank you as she set the teacups in front of each. She stood there for a while, her look traveling from each of them. She wanted to say something, but found that there was really nothing she could say, so she merely sighed and turned with the intention of walking back to the comfort of the kitchen.

"Relena…"

She stopped in her heels and turned once more. Heero was now looking at her with look she couldn't quite make out.

"Yes?"

"The man who was chasing you that time we met at the city…"

"Thomas Harrington?" she asked puzzled.

"You said he was part of a gang…"

"Yes, the Pennymobs…"she replied "They're settled in Whitechapel, but their men lurk around pretty much anywhere in London."

"Do they frequent the Damps?"

"The Damps?" Relena said with a frown and she shook her head "No. His group is usually around the market on Covent Garden…"

"Would he have a reason to be around the Damps?"

Relena was perplexed by his sudden interest in Thomas. Could he had something to do with the body that had been found that morning? Thomas was a bully, but to kill a man?

"N-no...I don't think he would. Why do you ask?"

"...I saw him lurking around the alley this morning." Heero asked simply.

"Igg… and you didn't tell me?" Duo groaned "We should have put him for questioning!"

"Under what premise? Curiosity?" Heero answered raising and eyebrow.

" Heero is right…" Quatre said "There was nothing we could do. Do you think he's a suspect, Heero?"

"Coming back to the crime scene would be stupid, but at the same time a diversion. The authorities wouldn't be expecting the perpetrator to return…" Trowa reasoned.

"Trowa is right, but I doubt he commited the murder…" Heero negated "Everything was done too neatly. I doubt a common gang member would be capable of murder a man without leaving any loose ends. I was just ...intrigued."

"Oh" Quatre said "That's right. Ms. Dorian, you live close to where they found that body right?"

"Eh..yes. A couple streets from there...why?"

"Please be careful, Ms. Dorian. We don't know if the culprit is still around the area…"

Relena smiled thankful at the blonde.

"I can't imagine why would someone ever want to kill me so be at ease. I will be careful. Thank you for your concern.."

She made a polite bow and walked back to the kitchen. Heero's gaze followed her until she disappeared behind the old wooden door that lead to the kitchen.

"Soooo ...Relena...huh?" Duo smirked "Since when are you that familiar with the lady?"

"None of your business…"

Quatre smiled. The blonde man had always been the most sensitive of the group and he had soon realized that the question about Thomas Harrington was unrelated to their case but rather to concern about Ms. Dorian's safety.

'You are too shy sometimes, Heero…' he thought amused, but the blonde man's warm thoughts were soon interrupted by Wufei's cold voice.

"What are we going to do now?"

"We will take a look at Mr. Pagan's home."


	8. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing**

Chapter VII

Pagan's home was modest. Heero paced around the common room looking at every corner. The decoration was chaste and the few belongings that could be found there were properly located in a making the room rather cozy.

"The body was found around 3 this morning. It is not really reliable considering the cold weather, but if we base our guesses around the status of _rigor mortis_ of the body...I would estimated that he had around 5 or 6 hours dead." Quatre said looking around the room as well.

"Well...that put our estimated time of dead around 1 or 2 in the morning…" Trowa added.

"According to the landlady, Mr. Pagan did not leave his house last night. The last time she saw him was at 9 o'clock when she bid him good night."

"It takes around 30 or 20 minutes to reach the crime scene from here. The perpetrator should have gotten him between 10 and 1 then. I guess we can confirm that the victim was in his home when he met the attacker."

"The door wasn't forced…" Wufei said crossing his arms "There are no signs of struggle nor fight either."

"Did the attacker got him while he was aslept, maybe?" Quatre suggested.

"I don't think so…" Heero said stopping in front of the fireplace and staring at the small coffee table between the armchairs "two teacups...our victim had a visitor."

"An interrupted visit, considering that they did not finish their tea…" added Duo "Our culprit, perhaps?"

"But that would mean that the perpetrator was someone he knew" Wufei said a frown.

"Hey look at this...letters" Trowa said picking a bunch of papers that had been carefully hidden behind a picture frame. The envelopes had no return address.

Heero picked one of the letters and opened it. It was dated to 7 years ago and it was writing in fine calligraphy, but the inking was off.

 _Dearest Pagan,_

 _We appreciate your consistent help. Be at ease since we are doing just fine._

 _Her cold has gotten much better these past days and she was able to eat a little last night._

 _I am sorry that we can not visit you, nor give you an address. I do not think it is prudent from my part to take such a risk right now._

 _Just know that we are good. I will contact you eventually._

 _Yours truly,_

 _M.P_

Heero frowned and he pulled another letter out. This one was dated six months after the one he had just read.

 _Dearest Pagan,_

 _I believe someone has been tailing me lately. Perhaps is me being paranoid, but I could not take the risk of leading them straight to her._

 _I will have to take a few days away to lead them farther from her. I am not sure who they are or what they want with us, but I believe it is up to not good._

 _I won't be able to write for sometime, but she is being well looked, so do not worry._

 _Yours truly,_

 _M.P_

The rest of the letters were similar. Ambiguous reports of status to the old man, what Heero found curious was that the letter seemed to be constant, but they had subtle changes. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Heero had an eye for detail and things like that did not go unseen to his eyes. The letters dated from 4 years ago to date were written in better quality paper and the inking was smoother and consistent. The author of those had gained access to better quality writing materials. The content from the lates letter dated a month ago, caught his particular attention.

 _Dearest Pagan,_

 _They have found out. I am convinced about it now. I am leaving the country in hopes to divert their attention from her. I hope to return someday, but if the situation does not improve I may not be able._

 _She is a strong woman now, I know she can take care of herself, but I can not help but worry about what would happen if they ever found her._

 _They will come to you, my old friend. There's no doubt of it. Tell them the truth as I fear what they would do to you if you were to refuse. It is not like you know much since I have been carefully not to give you too much information, so knowing what you know should not be enough to find her._

 _She will be safe as long as she stays where she is. They will follow me as soon as they depart and maybe that will be enough to make them believe that we are no longer in London._

 _Be safe, my friend. Trust no one._

 _Yours truly,_

 _M.P_

"What the hell?" Duo groaned "Who the hell is this M.P person?"

"Tell them the truth…." Quatre read outloud "Could it be….?"

"Tell them the princess is alive" Trowa finished for him "Then...this she...he's referring to the princess."

"Pagan knew where the princess was?" Duo asked "Why didn't he say it?"

"He didn't know, Maxwell...aren't you paying attention?" Wufei growled at him "This...M.P person never told him where they were. He just told him how they were. He said it himself, he didn't want to put the old man in danger… the less you know, the better…"

"I don't think that helped the old man…" Trowa sighed "I put my bets that this _them_ he's talking about are behind our little murder. The must have found out M.P's stunt and came to get some answers…"

"He wasn't able to answer them and so they killed him…" Quatre concluded.

"That doesn't explain the note…" Heero commented rubbing his chin.

"A message….to M.P maybe?" Duo suggested "something like...We know you fooled us. We are going after the princess now…"

"Mmm...well that confirms us something at least."

"What?"

"The princess is most likely living in the Damps."

* * *

Relena rubbed her arms trying to push away the coldness and the feeling of numbness. She glanced out the window and sighed. The small blizzard that had been falling during the day had turned to an small storm by now.

"Ye know ye can stay 'ere fr the night, Lena." Mrs. McGreville offered with a smile.

"That is a kind offer, but I should go home…"

"With the glaze 'hihing this hard...the streets will be freezin' dear…"

"I'll be alright. I will warm up once I run a few streets. I can't leave Hilde and the boys alone…"

"Dun say I didn' tell ye…"

"Good bye, Mrs. McGreville. Have a good night and all I see at the morning."

Relena tightened her shawl and left the pub quietly. It was late and as expected she didn't see anyone on the streets.

'Of course...who would be crazy enough to be running under the snow this late...besides you Relena." she thought with a giggle, but was interrupted by an uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

Relena walked down the deserted street with a quick pace. She looked around her cautiously making sure that no one was following her or preparing to jump at her, but the darkness and the snow wasn't helping to her visibility. Deciding that being paranoid wasn't going to help in anything, she rushed her pace, but before she had given a couple steps, she felt a piercing pain hit her back.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

Heero was woken up by loud noises and screams. It was still dark, so it was still night time. Why was it so noisy then?

"SOMEBODY…..PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! HELP!"

Heero scream was coming from the pub. An by the sound of it, someone was in extreme distress and he could hear Mrs. McGreville's panicking voice joining the screams.

He opened the door of his room with a bang and barely avoided a crash with his companions who were on their way down as well. THe five exchanged concerned looks and rushed down the stairs.

What they found at the pub froze them on their feet. The errand boy that they usually sa running back and forth around the pub was standing at the pubs door, his clothes were all covered by blood and he was barely holding a limp body.

"Ms. Dorian!" Quatre cried in horror running to relieve the small boy from his charge.

The boy looked at Quatre hesitant to let go, but the blonde smiled at her.

"I am Ms. Dorian friend and I know a little medicine. Let me help…"

The boy nodded as Quatre and Trowa picked Relena's limp body and laid her on a couch. THe errand boy stared at them rubbing his hand. He looked awfully pale and tears were starting to run down his cheeks.

"Hey….are you okay? You're covered in blood. Are you hurt…?" Duo asked him, but the boy shook his head.

"It...it...it isn't mine." he whispered "Relena...she…"

"Is it her blood?" Heero asked sternly. "What happened?"

The man's intense gaze made the tiny errand boy flinch and Duo could do nothing but pity him. Heero did not mean to be intimidating, at least not most of the time, but the man sometimes wasn't aware of how scary he could be. It had taken him years to learn to ignore his glares, and even now, he often felt a little scared when Heero was in a particularly moody day.

Duo placed a hand on the kid's shoulder sympathetically and he almost dropped to the ground. He couldn't blame him, after watching his friend being beaten into a pulp by dangerous criminals, the adrenaline shot from his run away stunt and now Heero's characteristic glare, he was just impressed that the kid hadn't fainted yet.

"It…it...I..."

"Hilde, m'dear…" Mrs. McGreville said coming to her with a blanket "Calm down, m'dear. These 're good men. Don't be scared…they won' hurt ye, so ..."

Duo patted his back and smiled at him reassuringly. He then looked at Heero and threw him a "Don't scare the kid" look. Heero sighed.

"Tell us what happened...please."

"It...It was that bastard of Thomas Harrington!" Hilde cried out "It was late, so I grew concerned that Relena hadn't gotten home yet….so...so…"

"So?" Duo asked.

"I came looking for her. And those bastards….were hitting her on the street! Who knows what else would they have done if I hadn't yelled at them calling for the police!" Hilde cried out loudly "I called on her and shook her, but she wouldn't wake up! And then...then...I heard something and I wasn't sure if...if they were coming back so...so...I ran here!"

"Shhhush….calm down dear." Mrs. McGreville said lovingly rubbing the boy's back.

"But...but...she wouldn't wake up and she was bleeding so much!"

Heero frowned. He was afraid that something like this would happen when he saw that man lurking around the Damps and he mentally slapped himself for having done nothing about it. Then again, what could he have done?

Heero left his braided friend to take care of the shivering kid while he walked to the couch were Quatre was leaning quietly over the unconscious girl. The blonde boy face was filled with worry as he looked up at his companion.

"Heero..."

"Quatre...how is she?" Heero asked.

"Not that good. I don't think I can help her. She needs a proper physician right away."

Where would they find a physician at this hour and under this horrific weather?

"Sally! We need to get Sally!" Hilde cried out grabbing Duo's arm and shaking it desperately " I will...I will…I'll go fetch her!"

"Woah, easy fella!" Duo said trying to calm the kid " You're in not condition to go right now and we don't need another injured to worry about."

"But...but..."

"I will fetch the physician…" Wufei offered.

All eyes turned to the chinese in surprised.

"Where do I find him?" he proceeded ignoring his companions look.

"Her…." corrected Mrs. McGreville "She works at Bethlem Royal Hospital. Just ask for Ms. Sally Po. Tell 'er Relena needs 'er."

Wufei didn't need to hear it twice; he nodded and left before anyone could say anything more. Duo watched his friend disappear through the door wondering what had gotten into his always-irritated friend. He let out a sigh and tried to calm the errand boy who had just started crying once more. He could understand that the kid was scared, but , heck, he was a man. He should at least try to get a hold of himself.

"I'll get us 'ome tea. Ah'm sure we 'ould use it" Mrs. McGreville said entering the kitchen.

Heero turned his attention back to the unconscious girl lying on the couch. Bruises were beginning to appear on her pale skin and he could see blood coming from the areas where her clothes had been torn; if her coat hadn't been black, he was sure it would have been red by now.

"It was lucky that, Hilde found her. Those men are despicable…" Quatre said sadly "Ms. Dorian is such a good person. I can't believe they would do this to her…"

"He must have been bitter after the incident" Trowa said "He probably did it as vengeance. Gangs are not famous for being reasonable..."

"It is not right…" Quatre said shaking his head "It is simply not right..."

* * *

Sally Po let out a loud sigh. Night shifts were never her favorite thing, she preferred day shifts better. There was something about the dark corridors of the hospital that simply made her uncomfortable.

"Ah...get a hold of yourself, Sally." she said to herself as she pushed medicine cart. It was long past midnight and all the patients were already asleep so there wasn't really much work to do.

"Ms. Po! Ms. Po!"

Sally turned around and found one of the younger nurses running to her with a terrified look. The blonde woman frowned in worry.

"Ms. Harolds...what is it?"

"There's a man looking for you!"

A man? That was new.

"Did he say who he was?"

The young nurse shock her head with a troubled look spread over her face.

"He...did not. He said it was an emergency...something about someone named Relena…."

"Relena?" Sally said with wide eyes.

Without waiting for the nurse's answer, Sally made her way down the stairs to the lobby. An asian man stood fretfully in front of the reception table with his arms crossed over his chest, he kept sending poisonous glares to the reception woman.

"I am Sally Po...who's looking for me?"

The asian man turned to her with a glare and she had to restrain herself from glaring back.

"Good. Relena needs you… Let's go…" he said grabbing her arm and dragging to the door.

"What? Wait...stop. STOP."

"I will explain on the way. Move…Ms. Dorian needs your help. "

Sally glared at the man, but at the mention of Relena's name her expression lightened.

"What happened?" she said following the man to his horse.

"She was attacked by a group of men. She is seriously hurt and she needs medical attention as soon as possible…"

Sally's eyes widened in horror and without thinking it twice she jumped over the horse's back with ease and turned to look at Wufei. The asian was shocked by a moment, but he managed to recover his usual demeanor as Sally smirked.

"Well...are you coming or will l have to go on my own?"

* * *

Heero sat by the couch staring at Relena's pale face and the slow movement of her breathing. Wufei had left almost 20min ago for the physician, but his chinese companion hadn't come back yet and he was starting to feel restless. Quatre sat next to the couch pressing a cloth against the woman's abdomen. That was the injury that had Quatre worried the most.

The sound of a door opening made everyone in the room raise their heads. A woman with golden hair tied in two braids that fell over her shoulders came in running directly to where Relena was lying; right behind her, came an annoyed looking Wufei. Quatre moved away to give the new comer space to work.

"She's lost a lot of blood. The gash on her stomach is serious but thanks goodness, it doesn't look like any internal organs were compromised. I'll need to stitch it up though. I need someone to boil these tools for at least 15 minutes to sterilize them. I also need clean sheets." she said with a commanding voice " The rest of the lacerations are superficial."

"But...she will be fine….won't she?" Hilde whispered weakly.

"Relena is a strong girl. I am sure she will make it. Don't worry, Hilde…"

"But she hasn't woken up..."

"She will wake up. Don't worry..."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter IX

Relena realized two things when she woke up: she was surrounded by a nice warmth and she was in pain, horrible pain. Her head felt like it was going to burst and her stomach was burning.

She let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes; her vision slightly blurry.

"Oh! She's awake!" a soft voice said by her side.

She hadn't known them for long, but she was could still recognize that voice. Quatre, the most gentle member of a group of five men that had turned Mrs. McGreville's inn into their home.

"Alright...let me take a look." another familiar voice, this one took her by surprise as she didn't expect to hear it.

"Sally?"

"Good...no memory loss, then…" she replied amused "We can cross posible amnesia from the list…"

"Uhg…"

Relena tried to push herself up, but the intense pain made her fall back and a wave of nausea invaded her.

"Ms. Dorian...you should stay down." Quatre said kindly.

"Uh...thank you, Mr. Winner."she said in a whisper.

Relena looked around. She wasn't in her home, in fact she wasn't sure where she was or how she had gotten there. She tried to map back the events since the moment she had left the pub. She had been walking home, then something had hit him and then...nothing. She couldn't really remember much after that.

"Where am I?"

"This is one of the rooms from the Timber Bells" Sally replied softly sitting down at the edge of the bed "Do you know what happened to you?"

"I...I don't think I do. I was walking back home. WHy are you here Sally? Didn't you have to work overnight today?"

"I was supposed to, but...I got myself dragged out of the hospital and all the way through the city under this dreadful weather by a no so pleasant gentleman…"

"Forgive Wufei's manners. He does not know how to handle himself when it comes to women…"Quatre said apologetically.

"That is fine, Mr. Winner. It is not like I don't have to put up with men like him all the time." Sally smiled "If only all were as nice as you, Mr. Winner…"

"Oh, you flatter…" Quatre said embarrassed "I will go tell Heero and the other's that is awake. They must be really worried…"

Quatre walked out of the room silently and Sally let out a soft sigh as she tilted her head a little. Her light blue eyes staring at the, now, closed door, before turning back to Relena.

"So...what happened to me?"

"Well, for what Hilde told me. You were attacked by Harrington and his gang of useless folk." Sally said visibly annoyed "You were lucky that she made it to you on time; she made a lot of noise and scared them off. She then brought you back to the pub. These gentlemen took care of you until I arrived…"

"I told you they were good people." Relena smiled.

"Yes, yes. I guess you were not lying after all " Sally smiled "I could see they were really concerned."

"I must thank them properly…"

Relena tried to push herself up once more. The piercing pain across her stomach made moan.

"You won't be going anywhere for awhile, I am afraid. I already talked to Ms. McGreville and she's decided to have you stay here until the injuries are better."

"What? You know I can't…"

"You will have to, Relena. I doubt you could make it home in this condition anyway. Besides, with injuries like this, the risk of an infection is high. It'd be better if you stay here until you get better. I was dragged out from the hospital, so I did not bring any medicine with me, but I will see what I can get you later, alright?"

"Thank you, Sally."

"Don't thank me, silly. We have known each for years, we are like sisters. You should know better…"

Relena gave the older blonde a shy smile.

"How is Hilde? She wasn't hurt, was she?"

"She's a little shaken up, but she is well and unharmed."

Relena nodded. Suddenly, there was a soft knock in the door. Sally pushed herself up and opened the door just to let Hilde burst into the room. She knelt next to the bed with her face filled by relief. Relena saw the faces of Mrs. McGreville and the five gentle guests appear at the door; she caught a pair of concerned prussian eyes staring at her and she smiled faintly.

"Thanks goodness." Hilde sighed "Lena, you gave me a scare out there."

"I am alright, Hilde. Thank you for saving me."

"What are you saying? You would have done the same for me…"

"So Lena 's fixed up?" Mrs. McGreville asked Sally.

"As best as I could do…" Sally smiled at the chubby lady "but I am not miracle worker. She will need to rest and proper care to prevent any kind of infection. I will try to sneak some medicines from the hospital for her…"

"Sally, dear...won' ye get trouble for doin' hat?"

Sally shrugged.

"I will handle it. Don't worry…"

"Stealing? Such an dishonorable practice…" Wufei muttered and Sally glared at him.

"It might be dishonorable, but sometimes it is necessary…" Sally defended.

"Wouldn't be easier to buy it?" Quatre asked.

"Medicines are expensive…" Sally replied shaking her head "It's not like everyone can afford it. Even if Relena used the money that her brother sends her, it wouldn't be enough. Unfortunately, life is not fair when you are poor…" she added bitterly.

"Don't worry about it, Sally. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me. I can handle it without the medicines…"

"Relena, I can't be as cruel as letting you take the pain without medication…"

"Oh...perhaps we can buy 'em…" Mrs. McGreville "Lena 's like our child. We don't mind…"

"Mrs. McGreville, please don't. I will be fine. It already a lot that you are letting me stay here…"

"Nonsen'. I told ye lon' ago ye shoul' muv 'ere…."

"I can't do that. You know that Mrs. McGreville."

"Either way. I am sure everyone is exhausted and I need to get back to the hospital now. I'll come see you later today, Relena."

"Thank you again, Sally."

"Silly. Very well...gentlemen...Out. The patient needs to rest!"

Relena suppressed a chuckle making the pain from her stomach increase, but she managed to keep it from showing in her face. Sally put on her mask of stern nurse and pushed all the visitors but Hilde out of the room. She gave the two girls a gentle smile and left the room closing the door.

* * *

When Sally reached the corridor she found someone waiting for her. Heero stood casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Her lips curled into a small smirk. Relena had told her about him, and she could tell that the younger girl had an evident interest in the man.

"Mr. Yuy, right?"

"Hn. Thank you…"

"You're thanking me?"

"For helping her…"

Sally smiled again. So the interest was probably not one sided after all.

"Like I said, Relena is like my little sister. There is nothing to thank."

"You have known her for long?"

"Yes, since she was a little child. We even live together. The three of us…"

"The three?"

"Relena, Hilde and I."  
"So you live in the Damps, too?"

"Contrary to what most people believe, not all the people who live in the lower districts are a bunch of criminals."

"I did not intend to offend you…"

"Non taken." Sally shook her head quietly.

"You too are refugee of war, then?"

"I came to London with my grandmother when I was five. My hometown was burned down by the Romefeller Troupes. I met Relena and her brother and we became friends since we were close in age."

"And the kid…?"

"Hilde? She too. We all had that in common."

Heero nodded. His eyes looked past her shoulder and Sally realized that he was staring at the closed door behind her.

"About the medicines…" he said "Write me what she needs. I'll buy them…"

Sally looked at him surprised.

"Oh, pass by the hospital later. I'll give it to you"

Heero nodded. He bid her goodbye and headed back to his room, leaving Sally alone with her thoughts. She rushed her way down the stairs pondering about Relena and this certain gentleman of blue eyes when she crashed against an annoyed Wufei.

"What took you so long?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

" I am scorting you back to the hospital."

"You...are?"

"It would be dishonorable and low to allow a woman to walk alone this late. Let's go…"

Sally snorted. So this man wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. He just had a very poor temper.


	11. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own GUNDAM WING**

Chapter X

Heero sat in front of the table. His arms were crossed over his chest and his look locked on the set of letters that were spread over the wooden surface.

"So...did you get an epiphany?" Duo said teasingly.

Heero raised his look and glared at his braided friend. Duo just smiled and leaned back on his chair.

"So what now?"

" Maybe we should follow Ms. Dorian's advice and ask around the Damps…" Quatre suggested.

"We don't have any clue of how the princess looks like, how can we ask about her?" Duo said skeptically " In fact...we know nothing about her but her age."

"She is still a member from the royal family…" Trowa said "There should be something in their family archives."

"The royal archives have restricted access…" Quatre said "I guess we could ask the Prime Minister…"

"We can try that. If he doesn't agree we can always use...other methods." Trowa said meaningfully.

"Since every record from Sanc kingdom was destroyed, this is probably our best bet." Heero nodded "Trowa and Quatre, you two check on that. The idea of asking around Damps is not entirely useless either. I think Ms. Po could be of some use, too. She seems pretty well acquaintance with the population of the Damps and she also has access to medical records."

"I'll go to the hospital then." Wufei offered and Heero nodded.

"Duo and I will go to the Damps. Well met in here at noon."

The other four men nodded and went their ways. Duo rested his arm on Heero's shoulder and grinned.

"Going to pay a visit to missy before leaving?"

"...Hn. I would like to ask her something…."

"Yes, yes...that's the excuse." he chuckled " Well you go get her. I'll see you downstairs…"

Duo flipped his braid to his back and walked aways whistling cheerfully. If looks could kill, Duo would long be dead, but Heero shook his head and walked to the last door in the corridor and knocked.

"Come in…" a voice said softly and he opened the door quietly.

Relena was leaning against the bed head. Her blonde hair was loose and her golden locks fell over her shoulders. Heero had found that he liked that look on her better than her usual pull-up do. The girl's face was pale, but she smiled brightly as she saw him cross the doorframe.

"Heero. I was hoping you would pay a visit…"

"You were?"

"Yes, of course. I was growing rather bored. How is your work coming along?"

Heero shrugged. He pulled at chair closer to bed and sat down. He took his time to take a good look at her. It'd been a couple days since the attack and despite her constant denials, Heero knew that she was in pain.

"Slow…" he replied "How are you feeling?"

"I can't complain…" she smiled weakly.

"Hm...if you are feeling off, you should say it…"

"It is nothing really. I am sure… it is normal. I've been feeling a little airheaded, that all."

"I can send Quatre to check you…"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you. I know you are probably busy enough. I am alright…"

Heero looked at her trying to see through her facade. He knew something was off. She wasn't as energetic as usual, then again, that could be a secondary effect of the medicine she'd been taking. Sally had already told them about them.

"So...to what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"I was hoping you would help me."

"Help? I am not sure if I can be of any help considering my current condition…"

"It shouldn't be a problem…" Heero replied monotonously "What I seek is merely advice."

"Advice?"

"I am not familiar to this surroundings. This is my first time in London."

"I know...you mentioned it before."

"And I am searching for a person, I mentioned that too. At the moment my partners and I have come to a dead end and we really need more leads if we want any chance to find this person. All we know is that she arrived to London as a refugee for war and that she should be around our age this year. No name or picture, not that it would have come in handy…"

"I understand…"

Relena seemed to reflect on his words. To tell that truth, she felt rather flattered by the fact that he had come to search her advice.

"Whether it is useful or not, I don't know, but.."she said softly "There was a man who provided factories and brothels with children. He kept records of the children he dealt with. Maybe the person you are looking for is among them. His name is William Freigner, he lives in a slum named the Devil's Acre in Westminster. It is a rather dangerous place, though…"

Heero nodded. He stood up from his seat and looked reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it. I need to go now, Duo is waiting for me."

"Oh...yes, of course. Please be safe."

"I'll come see you later."

"I will be waiting then…" Relena smiled.

Heero nodded once more and walked out of the room without noticing the girl's whimper.

* * *

Duo stood at the door kicking the snow from on the ground lazily as he waited for Heero to come down when someone crashed against him with a loud thud.

"AUCH!"

"Woah...easy there kid." Duo said with a grin "What's the rush?"

"Ah, Mr. Maxwell…" Hilde replied surprised "Sorry for bumping at you."

"Never mind...it's not like you could hurt me being tiny as you are…"

"I am not tiny!" Hilde pouted "Why are you standing out here? It's freeezing…"

"Wellp...gotta blame Heero if I end up freezing up to dead. He's upthere being all chhitchatty with Relena while I am here turning blue…" he replied over dramatically making Hilde laugh.

"Poor you…" Hilde giggled.

The braided man grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What about you kid? What are you doing out with this weather?"

"Working…" she shrugged "Now that Relena is in bed I'm helping with errands at the market."

"Ah...you two seem close, heh? I would be careful if I were you. I wouldn't want to get on Heero's bad side if you know what I mean…" Duo giggled with a wink.

"What?" Hilde said staring at him confused "Why would Mr. Yuy be mad at me?"

"Well...Relena, you see...I think Heero has a thing for her…"

"He does?"

Duo saw her eyes go wide and then her eyes glittered.

"Oh dear heaven! That is great!"

"What?" Duo said confused "Why are you so excited?"

"Are you joking?"

Duo was puzzled. He had thought the kid had a crush on the girl. Normal people would have been angry at the remark of another man interested in the the same woman, but apparently he was excited. The door opened behind them and the topic of their conversation came out wrapping a scarf around his neck.

"Finally!" Duo groaned " Ready to go, pal?"

"Change of plans. We are not going to Damps…"

"What? "

"Relena told me about a man who is into child slavery. He keeps records of the kids he handles, so…"

"Ah...I got it know. We are getting a hand over those records. So where's this fella?"

"Devil's Acre…"

"Awesome...where?"

"You are planning to go to Devil's Acre?" Hilde groaned "Are you two out of your minds? That's like...the most dangerous place in all London!"

"Is it?" Duo Said raising his eyebrow " Sounds like fun! How do we get there?"

"Somewhere in Westminsters, apparently…"

"You can't possibly be thinking about going there…"

"If we can get information…"

"Say, kid…could you be our guide?"

"You people are crazy?" Hilde blurted

"Aw...come on. We need a some help here."

"Fine. I will take you there. But you two are definitely out of your minds."

"So we have been told …"

"Follow me!"

Hilde lead them through the crowded streets and alleys of the city. She smirked watching the man trying to keep her pace. She stole a look of the serious man with the piercing blue eyes. He was good looking and he judging by his clothing, he was well accommodated, too. Duo had said that he was interested in Relena.

"You two are really slow…" she giggled.

"Hey, we don't know our way around." Duo defended.

"Luckily for you, we just arrived."

"We did?"

"I am not crazy as you, so I am not stepping beyond here."

"Oh come on. It can't be that bad.."

"Heh, you really don't know anything about the city. The worst criminals of all London are down there, you know? If you can get yourselves out of there in one piece; you are something from other world…"

"Heh… Heero and I can take on some punks, right buddy?"

" Thanks for taking us here." Heero said ignoring his companion.

"You are welcome. Good luuuuck!"

Hilde stood there waving at them as the two men walked down the set of stairs that lead to the infamous Devil's Acre. Hilde couldn't do more shrug. Those men were walking straight to their doom.

* * *

When Hilde had said that the people Devil's Acre were dangerous, he hadn't be lying. At least that was the first thing that crossed his mind when he knocked out the the last of their attackers. If they had been any other men, they would long be dead, but they were not any men.

"So...any of these folk is our fella?" Duo asked sounding his knuckles.

Heero did not answer, he knelt over one of the men and grabbed him by his collar causing him to groan in pain.

"We are looking for William Freigner. Where is he?"

"He… he...lives in the last house down this alley…" the man answered terrified.

Heero snorted and released the man, who fell to ground with a painful crack. The prussian eyed man stood up and walked to the direction he had been given followed by an amused Duo.

The house, if it could be called that, looked as if could fall apart in any moment. It was merely a set of wood panels barely nailed together to form a big "box" with cloth covered windows and door. Heero didn't bother to knock and instead he kicked the door open with a loud bang.

"Bloody hell…!" an man with dirty clothes and missing some of his front teeths growled angrily and glared at the two men standing on his, now, broken door."What they hell do you think ye're doin?"

"William Freigner…?"

"Depends of who's lookin' for him…"

"Look fella. We are not here to play...so answer." Duo said with threatening smile

The man looked terrified for a minute.

"What the hell do ye want?"

"We have been told you do...business with children."

"So what…? I help 'em!"

"Seriously? You put boys into slavery and girls into prostitution. How's that called helping?"

"I get'em a place to sleep and food."

"Oh yeah right…" Duo said rolling his eyes.

"What are ye? Police folk?"

"No. We need the records of the children you've dealt with…"

"And why would ye want that?"

"That's our business, not yours…." Heero replied coldly "Where are they?"

"What if I don't want to give 'em?"

"Ah...I am sure we can persuade you" Duo smirked cracking his knuckles.

He ran to the man and hit his gut with his knee just with enough force to leave him slightly breathless.

"So...will you cooperate?"

"They're in the box over the shelf...take 'em. Just leave me alone!

"Well, now we are talking…"

Heero walked to the shelf and picked the box. He opened it and inspected its content to assure it was what they needed before shutting it close and walking out of the ramshackled house.

"A pleasure negotiating with you. Have a nice day…" Duo smirked winking at the panting man and followed his companion.


	12. Chapter 11

**Wooo made it 11 . Okay here's another chapt.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM WING**

 **Chapter XI**

"I am starting to regret not breaking that bastard's bones, you know?" Duo said staring at the information they'd retrieved with disgust.

Heero growled in disgust as well. THe man had kept the basic information of the kids he had: gender, age, origin and final location. All the kids had been homeless and without family; mostly survivors from towns and cities stuck by war.

"You were there looking for Freigner?"Hilde asked in disbelief as she served them more tea.

With Relena bedridden, she had volunteered to take her place as waitress in the pub. She was helpless as a cook, but at least she could help with those smaller tasks.

"You know the fella?" Duo asked with a frown.

""Of course I do. Everyone knows that rat. He's worse than Spring Heeled Jack, in my opinion. "

"Spring what?"

"He tried to…?" Heero asked.

"Of course he did. He had his eyes on Sally, Relena and I when we were younger, but Lena's brother wouldn't allow it. He took quite a beat, at the time. He was 13 at the time."

"Damn...that disgusting bastard…" Duo growled hitting the table angrily "How's that nobody has done anything about it?"

"He has tides to some high ranked fella. That's why his activities are always overlooked."

"Tch….corrupts. I can't believe it. Can't you believe that Heero?"

Hilde smiled at the man's outburst of indignation. They were good men, but they were obviously not from London. Things like this happened all the time, it was the darker side of the city. The face that most people from higher status simply choose to ignore.

"There is not really much to do about it…" Hilde shrugged "It is unfortunate, but that is just how it is…"

"But we can't just leave it like that! Heero….?"

Before Heero actually managed to articulate an answer, Trowa and Quatre appeared at the table and sat down quietly. Hilde rushed to bring a set of cups to the new arrivals and poured the steaming amber liquid into them.

"You don't look happy. What's wrong?" Trowa said looking at them curiously.

Duo's anger was evident; the man was usually an open book with his emotions; Heero was more reserved with them, but the tint of silent anger in his eyes was evident to whom knew where to look.

"Look for yourselves!" Duo blurted.

Quatre picked one of the closest files and after reading the first lines, his look face turned into a mix of sadness and horror.

"This is horrible…"

"Exactly!"

"Did you find anything less...disturbing?" Heero whispered coldy.

"We got permission to check the family records from Sanc kingdom from the Prime Minister. We already went to the royal archives, they said they'd have it ready in a couple days…" Trowa answered.

"Hn…"

The bell of the door ran loudly, and Wufei entered the pub with a visibly angry look followed by an amused looking Sally who seemed to be poking at his back in teasing manner.

"Sally!" Hilde said happily "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Hilde." the blonde nurse (1) smiled "I forgot you were helping at the pub in Lena's place. I got an unnerving visitor this morning and since I have no shift today I tagged along to come check on Lena. Gentlemen…" she added making a formal bow.

"Ms. Po…" Heero acknowledged her with a nod.

"Mr. Yuy…" she smiled "I see you're busy. I hope I am not interrupting."

"Hardly. You know, maybe it's good to have you here….just in case any of us drops dead with disgust…" Duo said leaning his chin on his hand.

"Ow...How come?"

"They just found out about Freigner's business…" Hilde explained.

"Oh…" she said in understanding "That disgusting piece of living creature…what did he do now?"

"We went to find him for some information."

"Oh, about the girl you are looking for. Well, let us hope you don't find her in those papers. Freigner is not known for his good treatment to his merchandise…" she sighed bitterly.

"Disgusting. That man does not deserve to be regarded human…" Wufei said putting down the papers.

"Well, it seems we finally agree in something, Mr. Chang…" Sally smirked "God knows that I look forward to seeing the news of his death one of these days. It is not like it'd be a great lose anyway…"

"Don't let Relena hear you…" Hilde smiled sadly.

"That girl...she's too kind of a human being…" Sally sighed shaking his head " Sees the good even when there's none in those rotten hearts…"

"You certainly do not like the man, do you Ms. Po?"

Sally smiled with irony. Of course she did not like him; as the "physician" of many of the kids living in the Damps she had seen the cruelties that Freigner had condemned them to and if that was enough, she had the recollection of past events as an excuse to despise the man.

"I've heard from Mr. Chang that you were hoping me to help to your cause."

"Yes,that is the case."

"You've gained my sympathy for many reasons, Mr. Yuy, but how am I supposed to help you find your lady when I just know her age?"

"I've got the impression that you are a woman of many resources, Ms. Po. I am sure you might be able to solve that…"

"You're flattering. How am I supposed say no to you know…" Sally giggled " I happen to know quite a bunch of young girls from Sanc kingdom."

"You do?" Quatre said in surprised.

"You're seeing two of them right now...and there's a third one resting upstairs if you know what I mean."

"Wait a second…." Duo said with wide eyes "You mean…"

The braided man's look fell over Hilde in surprise.

"YOU ARE A WOMAN?"

Duo's sudden out burst made the petite girl flinch. Many of the other guests were now looking at them strangely.

"You must be an idiot if you figured it out until now, Maxwell…" Wufei said with a frown.

"What? You knew?"

"It wasn't evident at first…" Trowa said "but it was pretty obvious later ont…"

"You too Trowa?"

"I was meaning to ask why she dressed up like that, but I missed my chance at the time…" Quatre admitted.

"Hn…" Heero nodded "We were concerned about other matters at the time."

"WHAT? WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T KNOW?"

"Sometimes I wonder how you ended up being a detective, Maxwell. You're lacking in so many skills…" Wufei smirked.

"I can't believe no one told me" Duo groaned offended.

"We...just assumed you knew…" Quatre smiled apologetically.

"Oh...REALLY? And you kid…"

Hiled looked at him confused.

"Leave the girl alone, Duo." Heero warned him.

"Why did you try to fool me?"

"I didn't…" Hilde said softly "I wore this clothes so that I could run around safer…"

"Safer?"

"A boy is less likely to be harassed when he's running around doing errands." Trowa stated matter of factly "Cunning…"

Hilde smiled with a small hint of pride.

"Exactly"

"You must be joking…" Duo sighe miserably as he banged his head against the table.

Ignoring his companions ridiculous behavior, Heero turned back to Sally.

"You three came from Sanc?"

"Yes, we met on our way to London. The four of us were alone and so we ended up sticking together. All the survivors from Sanc stuck together afterwards…"

"Oh then….Ms. P...Eliina was probably among them!" Quatre said.

"Well…" Sally began, but she never got to end the phrase.

Mrs. McGreville ran down the stairs in a frenetic pace. Her eyes looked around until thye landed on Sally and she rushed to her with worried eyes.

" 'hank goodness! Sally ye'r here!"

"Mrs. McGreville...is something wrong?"

"Relena, m'dear…."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Went up to 'n her and...she's burning in fever!"

"WHat? Oh dear heavens, no…" Sally eyes were horrified "That is what feared...it must be an infection!"

The woman did not wait for anyone to comment or say anything else. She rushed up the stairs and disappeared from view.

* * *

Sally did not come down again that day. She spent the afternoon taking care of her younger friend and the other five men, despite being particularly concerned, had not dare to interrupt the woman's work. She had been frenetic giving orders around asking for towels, cold water and clean gauces every two hours.

Heero had been quiet, quieter than normal if that was even possible. He had put his efforts on focusing on his work, but for the first time, he found himself unable to pay attention to the words.

Duo was back into trying too comfort Hilde. His movement were a little more awkward now that he knew she was a girl, but he still tried. QUatre was pacing around the room in silence while Trowa looked his steps back and forth. Even Wufei seemed to be rather upset as he stood in the corner with his arm leaning against the windows frame.

"Did you hear?" a man sitting at table no to far from them was saying as he sipped from his glass "It seems there was a fire on down Devil's Acre…"

The mention of the slum's name caught Heero's attention.

"What?"

"I passed by a little while ago. A whole set of houses was burnt ashes!"

"Tch...it's scums nest anyway…"

"You're not wrong there. Seems like god finally nailed his justice over that rat of Freigner…"

"Well, God knows that bastard won't be missed."

At the mention of the name both Duo and Heero raised their looks. The braided man looked at his partner frowning and both of the men exchange significant looks.

William Freigner was dead.

* * *

(1) I take it was rare for females to be physicians during the victorian era so, I just made Sally a very efficient nurse.


	13. Chapter 12

CHapter XII

Although reluctant , the five men had lost no time to head to Devil's Acre. After showing the guard the pass with the Royal seal, they entered the scene. The fire had been mostly been put out and all that remained was the scorched skeleton of a house. Quatre made his way to the group of policemen who were prepared to lift the body and after exchanging words with them and showing them the Prime Minister letter, he was allowed to take a look.

"Man...I can't say the fella did not deserve it, but...isn't it just too...coincidental that he died today from all days?" Duo muttered looking around the ruins.

"That shows that you still have some bit of detective in you after all…" Wufei said.

"Oh, haha….very funny, Wufei."

Heero knelt on corner lighting the ground with the gas lamp. He hated fires. It destroyed practically any possible clue. After walking couple steps he found something that caught his attention: a couple empty bottles barely visible under the debri and the snow. He picked the bottle carefully and checked its content.

"Oil…"

"Did you find something interesting, my friend?" Duo asked casually.

"Take a look like this."

"Uff...fuel?"

"So it seems…"

"Provoked fire?"

"Perhasp…"

"Guess someone got tired of his trash, huh?"

"Hn…"

Heero walked to Quatre and stared at the blonde man as he finished with the body.

"I found something…" the man said looking up at him. He stretched his hand and passed something that looked like a small piece of paper to his silent companion.

Heero unfolded the paper and found some words written in a refined calligraphy in dark red ink.

 _Some things are better left unsaid_

 _Some secrets must be burnt_

"What the hell?" Duo groaned.

"I know…" Quatro replied with a frown " The paper was stuffed into the man's mouth and his mouth was clean of sooth."

"He was not alive when the fire happened…" Heero stated.

"No, his neck was broken. That was, possibly, the cause of dead. This was no accident. The fire was a set up…"

"To get rid of evidence." Wufei replied annoyed.

"That makes no sense. If the perpetrator wanted to get rid of his tracks, why leave a note?"

"Because he knew we would find it…" Heero said "Two deaths...two people that could potentially lead us to the target. The mode of death was different, but we have a common trait…"

"The notes…"

"Either this is a serial psychopath, of those notes are not coincidence…" Trowa nodded.

* * *

Heero stopped by Relena's bedroom before heading to his room. He knocked softly at the door and was immediately greeted by a tired looking Sally who smiled faintly at him.

"Mr. Yuy. You finally come…" she smiled stepping aside to let him pass "I heard you and your companions had left in a hurry…"

"William Freigner is dead." he replied. He was not someone to waste time beating around the bush. He saw the woman's face instantly filled with shock.

"What?"

"There was a fire."

"Oh, dear god. I can't believe it…"

Sally seemed to be processing the news so he allowed her a few minutes to think.

"How's Relena?"

"What? Oh, yes. She's still feverish and a little delirious. I should have known wouldn't say if she was feeling wrong…"

Heero nodded. He had seen her earlier. She'd been pale and weak, but he did not think to much about it at the time. I wave of guilt washed down his chest. Her face was covered in sweat and her breathing was uneven and weak.

"She won't go down that easily…" Sally whispered softly. Heero turned to her and found that the blonde nurse was staring at him"She learned to be stubborn from her I really need to thank you, Mr. Yuy…"

"What for?"

"Sponsoring her treatment, of course. Not many people would have done that…"

"I can assure you that any of my companions would have been delighted to do it. I just happened to be the first to come up with the idea." Heero replied without giving it importance.

"Still it was really a nice gesture. Especially considering that Lena is someone you just happened to meet in this pub…"

"Hn…"

Sally stared at the man curiously, but did not press into it. If the man had interest in her friend, she didn't want to scare him off with her questions. That was more like the brother's duty.

"I think I'll go down for dinner. Would you mind keeping an eye on her for me? Just in case she wakes up."

Heero nodded. He sat down in the chair that had been set next to the bed and watched Sally leave closing the door behind her. Without the nurse, the room suddenly became awfully silent. He wasn't particularly bothered by silence, in fact, he mostly enjoyed it, but it was the fact that he was in the room with certain lady, whose voice had somehow become pleasant to his ears, but was unable to speak what bothered him.

There was nothing else he could do,so Heero crossed his arms over his chest and began reliving the events of the day in his head. There was a little piece of information that he had received today that had him thinking. Sally had said the three girls had come from Sanc as refuges. Could one of them be the princess? He knew he was being a fool, there were many other girls in their situation, but he didn't know why his mind was pushing this idea to him.

He shook his head, there was no point making conclusions without proper evidence. He knew better than that. He should focus his thoughts into more pressing matters, there have been two deaths: an evident murder and an "accidental" fire; two notes, two victims, presumably unrelated.

The messages didn't make much sense. The first one had said something about hunting royals, the second one about secrets. They knew, by the letters found in the residence, that their first victim, Pagan, had known about the princess whereabout and had even, kept some sort of contact. If someone was trying to prevent them from finding the girl, killing the man made sense; but why killing Freigner?

The man was a child dealer and a thug. Was it possible that he had known something?

"Heero…?"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a soft and weak voice. He automatically turned his look to the woman in bed. She was looking at him with a worn out expression and exhausted eyes, but he saw her lips curl up in a faint smile.

"You did come…"

He was slightly confused at her comment, but then he remembered that he'd promised to come by earlier that day.

"Hn...how are you feeling?"

"Better...I think."

"You are sick. You should have said you were not feeling well…"

"Everyone was busy and I was not feeling that bad. I thought I could wait until Sally came to see me…"

Wait? How did she think she could wait until Sally came?That made no sense. He looked at her skeptically. The girl ignored his involuntary glare and pushed herself up from the covers letting out a soft whimper.

"You smell like smoke…" she said absently.

"Hn…"

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I am not sure yet. I haven't finish reviewing what we got…" Heero replied bitterly "It was not pleasant to see."

"I suppose. Freigner was never a pleasant man…"

"I heard from Ms. Po. You are originally from the Sanc kingdom…"

"Oh, Sally told you. It isn't really important. It was a long time ago. I was too young to remember and my brother did not like to talk about it. It brought back painful memories…"

"Understandable."

"We don't really talk about it. None of us. "

Heero nodded. He could understand what she meant. His companions and himself were not different. They had a silent pact to never speak of their pasts.

"Who are you looking for, Heero? A ghost from your past?"

Heero looked at the blonde girl with a frown. That was an unexpected question.

"No…"

"She is important though, isn't she?

"Not to me...but to others she is."

Relena seemed confused with his words.

"But you're looking for her…"

"It is my job. I was asked to find her…"

"Oh…" she said softly " I never asked you what your job was…"  
His job...what was it again? Heero didn't really pay attention to his titles. He did what he had to do and that was all. He had never bothered to put a name to what he did. Duo called them detectives, so maybe they were.

"I guess...detective could be the word…"  
"Oh…"

Relena was a curious person and ,in other circumstances, she would have been thrilled to ask him endless questions, but she was feeling dizzy and tired.

"I hate being in bed…" she sighed " It makes me feel useless…"

"You are not being useless. You are injured…."

"I just decided to get hurt at the worst time. Mrs. McGreville must be having it rough…"

"She's having help."

"Hilde…" she almost giggled "She was never good at being the pub's maiden. He likes to be the little lad better…"

Heero smirked. He had just remembered the little scene Duo had made after finding out he was actually a she

"Did she always wore those?"

"She wore girl's clothes when we were younger...but things weren't that easy and she just figured that dressing like a boy made it easier. So she stole some of my brother's clothes and cut off her pretty hair. She said she could be the "man" whenever my brother wasn't around. Sally laughed a lot that day…"

Heero didn't know what to say so he just sat there listening to her. She seemed happy talking about her childhood; it seemed like she was back into her usual healthy self.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should have followed her steps…" she giggled "might have saved me a lot of troubles…"

Heero frowned; he couldn't really picture her in Hilde's clothes.

"Hilde keeps saying I wouldn't have made it far, though…"

"How come?"

"Too refined to be a boy…"she smiled sheepishly.

He had to agree to that. There was something about her, he had noticed since the first time he met her. She was very feminine to pose as male.

"She might be right…" he admitted "Besides...it would have been a pity if you had cut your hair…"

Had he said that aloud? Relena looked at him surprised. Her cheeks were lit up by a light blush and she smiled shyly.

"I guess...my hair is the best I have" she said playing with one of her golden locks "my brother liked it. He said it reminded him of our mother…"

"May I ask about them…?"

"You could, but there's really not much I can tell you. I don't really remember them…" she said abscently "I only know what my brother told me. They were good people; hardworking. I lost my family to war, but I won a new one…" she added with a smile "So...it isn't that bad."

Relena closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt awfully sleepy, but she was so comfortable talking with Heero, she didn't want to sleep.

"It's funny…" she whispered "I barely know you, Heero, but I feel comfortable when I'm talking with you."

He had to admit the feeling was mutual. He was not a sociable person, as Duo loved to remind him. He never talked more than necessary. He looked at the girl and realized that she had fallen asleep. A vague smile appeared in his lips.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII

Relena was glad to be out of bed and back to her chores. At least, half of her chores, Sally had said she needed to take it slow until the her injury was fully healed. It was going to leave an ugly scar, but Relena didn't mind. She could have ended with much worse.

"It's good to see you back missy!" Duo chirped as he jumped the last two steps of the stairs "I was starting to miss you, you know?"

"Ah, you were well taken care of, though. Hilde did a great work!" she smiled.

"Ah...but she's not you…" he pouted.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Hilde glared at him "I think I did as good as Lena does."

"Neh...the cooking was a bit out…"

"Hey! "

Relena let out a soft giggle. Somehow those two seemed to get along just too well.

"Oh, hey! What are you doing? Sally said not heavy stuff, Lena!"Hilde snapped and Relena almost dropped the tray of plates she had picked from the table.

"Hilde...this are plates. It can hardly be considered heavy."

"Nah nah…"Hilde interrupted her by taking the tray "By the way...how come you are wearing your hair down now? You don't usually wear it lose..."

"I…" she babled. She wasn't going to admit that she had decided to use it down more frequently due to certain comment by certain blue eyed gentleman.

"It is really nice. Suits you well, missy." Duo smiled winked at her.

"Oh, good...how about you help us with this?" Hilde said pushing the tray to Duo's hands.

"Hilde! You can't do that, Mr. Maxwell is our guest…"

"Oh, he's live here long enough."

"Hilde…"

"That's fine, missy. Anything to help, and can we stop with the Mr. Maxwell thing…?Just call me Duo…"

"But…"

"Ah, come on. You call Heero by his name…"

"Oh, alright...Duo…" Relena said shaking her head with a smile.

"That's more like it!" Duo giggled "Now, where do I put these?"

"Ah, follow me braided fool…" Hilde snickered.

Relena watched with a smile how the two walked away. The two were bickering as old friends that had known each other all their lives.

"Someone seems to be having fun"

Relena turned to look at the speaker and found Quatre snickering with an irritated looking Wufei.

"He should be working and not wasting his time playing around."

"You are too stiff, Mr. Chang…" Relena said politely earning a glare from the chinese man. She ignored him and smiled "May I bring some tea? The weather hasn't been any better and you've been out all day."

"That would be marvellous. It is really cold outside."Quatre sighed sitting in front of the fireplace and rubbing his arms..

"It gets colder around christmas." Relena smiled pouring them the hot beverage,

"Christmas…"Quatre whispered "This will be the first time having christmas…"

"Your first time? How is it possible?"

"We don't usually stay long enough in a place to celebrate it." Quatre explained.

"It is a ridiculous and a waste of time…" Wufei said drinking his tea.

"Oh no. How can you say that?" Relena said tilting her head "Christmas is a wonderful season. Maybe after spending it here for a change you will change your mind."

"I doubt it…"

"You celebrate it here? In the pub?"

Relena smiled at the blonde's man obvious interest in the festivities. At least someone had spirit.

"Celebrate? There's nothing like christmas in the Timber Bells pub." Hilde said cheerfully "We get tree, we get music and Relena's christmas pudding!"

"Pudding?"

"Yes, you totally need to try it. It's like the best thing in town." Hilde giggled "Lena always prepares dinner for the guests and then we have those nice carolers singing outside. It's great…"

"It sounds like fun." Quatre smiled "I would like to participate. Maybe I could help with something…?"

"Oh, I could not ask you to help. That is not something guests should do, but you are welcome to join festivities of course…" Relena smiled.

"It's not bother at all. I want to help out…"

"But…"

"Actually, you know it might be a good idea…"

"Hilde…"

"What? There's a lot to do and Sally did say you should not go around overexerting yourself. There's shopping and decor to do...we could use the extra hand."

"Please, I'd love to help…"

"Yup, count me in too…" Duo grinned dropping himself next to was holding a plate of fresh baked cookies and eating "I haven't had a christmas since I was boy...by the way these...are heavenly, missy."

"You better pay for those biscuits your swallowing…" Hilde said smiled raising her eyebrow.

"Sure I will…" he winked at her "Want some?"

Quatre smiled picking one and, surprisingly, Wufei did the same.

"Where are Trowa and Heero?"

"Oh, they went to some people in town. They should be coming in soon."

As soon as Quatre had said those last words, the entrance bell rang and Trowa appeared inside the pub shaking off the snow from his coat. The man looked around and finally rushed his way to fireplace.

"Talking about the big fish...hey Trowa. Want a cookie?" Duo offered with wide grin.

The pulled off his gloves and picked one of the small pastries.

"So...where's Heero?"

"Outside with the horses. I don't think he's planning on entering any time soon. Any chance any of you would mind bringing him something warm to drink before he freezes out to death?" the green eyed man asked suggestively looking at the blonde woman with the teapot.

Hilde snickered. It was obvious that he was setting them up, and she actually found it amusing. Duo had a very direct approach to his companion when it came to Relena and his apparent interest in her; the taller gentleman, Trowa Barton, was rather more discret. Quatre was slightly oblivious to the topic, while the Wufei was simply uninterested. She had asked Duo once if Heero was really interested in Relena and he had implied that he was, but if she based her opinion on his behavior with her, she couldn't see more than pure cordiality in his treatment. Then again, Duo knew him better than she did, so his opinion was more accurate than hers.

"I'll handle this….you get Mr. Yuy something hot…"

"I guess I will. Perhaps I may persuade him to get inside. It's getting colder…"

Hilde watched her friend walk off into the kitchen before turning back to the four men sitting by the fireplace.

"Well that was a nice approach, Trowa…" Duo grinned "His in bad mood, isn't he?"

"Yes. We crossed paths with a rather...insistent aristocrat lady. Let's say I've never see him so willing to snap at the woman…"

"How come insistent?" Quatre asked.

"She was the daughter of a minister of Sanc, and she seemed to like Heero a little too much for his taste."

"That's why I say woman can be difficult to deal with…" Wufei said with a snort.

"Poor Heero…"

"Hey, if he's in bad mood, why did you send Lena? She's going to get the bad end of the straw!"

"You are one silly girl…" Duo laughed "She's going to get him in a better mood. Cunning Trowa, very cunning...hahaha…"

"I...don't get it…"

"Heero has a soft spot for her. He thinks we haven't notice it, but hey I'm not blind…"

"Well, it took you a month to notice that she was a woman, Maxwell…" Wufei said mockingly.

"Hey, that IS different. Come on, let us admitt it. He even paid for all those meds she needed…"

"He WHAT?" Hilde said with wide eyes.

"We are not supposed to know that, Duo. Heero will be pissed…" Quatre snickered.

"What are you talking about?"

"All the medicines that she was taking when she got injured. Heero was the one who bought it, and let me tell you. The man is a good guy, but he has quite a temper. It's not like him to go around being all gentlemanly to any woman…"

Hilde was shocked. She had assumed that the medicines had being sneak out from the hospital by Sally. She would have never imagined that Heero would have been the one to buy them.

"It was a nice gesture, but please, keep it secret from Ms. Relena." Quatre smiled "He didn't tell us, so we can only assume he wanted to keep it secret…"

"If he didn't tell you. How did you all found out?"

"We have our ways." the blonde smiled "but Duo is right, Heero's not exactly good with the ladies…"

"Should I worry?"

"What? No, no...I didn't mean that…"

"Don't worry about him, Hilde…" Duo winked at her "I said he had a soft spot for her."

* * *

Heero brushed his horse with a frown. Their visit to the Weydrige State have been useful, they now had at least a description of the princess. It wasn't much, but it might help the search. He would have been more satisfied if it hadn't been by Ms. Weydrige. THe girl had spent the whole time eying him and sending him flirty comments. He had always found that flirtatious attitude annoying.

He was fuming about it when a soft knock made him raise his head, and he could almost feel most of his anger fade as he saw Relena's head peeking out through the stable door. Her golden locks falling loosely over shoulder as she tilted her head smiling at him. She had began wearing her hair down more often and he had to admit he liked how she looked like that.

'What am I thinking…?' he thought shaking his head.

"I hope I am not interrupting…"

"Relena...what are you doing out here?" he said in way the sounded harsher than he meant. He had to rectify that "It's cold in here, it can't be good for your health."

Relena's smile widened.

"Nonsense. I am good with the cold, you however…" she said offering him a cup of steaming amber liquid "You don't seem all that good with it. Have this. It'll warm you up."

"You came all the way out to get me tea?"

Relena shrugged and smiled.

"No, of course not.I also brought biscuits…"

Heero shook his head and smiled. He took the cup and drank it. The warm feeling down his throat was welcomed.

"Why are you out here? The pubs is much warmer…"

"I needed some time to myself."

"Bad day…?"

"Perhaps…"he sighed.

Relena tilted her head once more. Her cerulean eyes stared at him for a moment. She knew better than to ask for details, but she wasn't going to stand there and do nothing to at least cheer him up. Her face lit up in a bright smile and Heero stared at her confused.

"I was talking to your companions a while ago." she said petting his horse's neck "They told me you don't celebrate christmas"

"We never…"

"Stay long enough to be part of the festivities…" she finished "Yes, your companions told me so; but you know...you are not going anywhere this time, are you? That means you get to spend it with us…"

Heero suddenly realized she was right. He couldn't remember when was the last time he had spent a christmas in a place and not traveling through it. He had never been much into that festivity, but somehow the prospect to spend it there wasn't sounding that bad.

"So...what do you say? Will you join us?"

If he was planning to decline he realized that Relena's face would have never let him.

"I...guess…"

"I promise I will make it worth it. That way you will have this one carved into your memory…" she said pacing around the stable like an excited little girl "Oh, there is so much to do...but I bet Hilde will help out."

"...Why?"

"Oh, well… she always helps out for the holidays…"

"No, I mean ...why do you want us to have a christmas to carve into our memories?"

"Because...because it is christmas. It is joyful season to share with people you love: friends and family. You and your friends deserve a christmas as much as anyone else!"

Heero unconsciously smiled. Suddenly, his annoyance about Ms. Weydridgewas completely forgotten as he watched the blonde woman talk to herself while listing the things she needed to prepare.

"That sounds like a lot to do. Are you sure you can handle it? You are still recovering."

"You sound like Hilde." she laughed "I will be fine. Hilde will help, Sally will help even Ms. McGreville will help. Also...your companions offered to help out, too."

"They did?"

"Yes, Mr. Chang was a little annoyed..." she giggled "But I think he will end up helping us out at the end."

"What makes you think he would do that…?"

"Mr. Chang just likes to act tough. I know he's a good man behind that annoyed face he always wear."

Nd how are you so sure?"

"Huh… and how are you so sure about that?"

"Don't forget that I am an observant person"

"So it is safe enough to assume that you have profiled us all.."

"You use such a formal word…" she laughed "I just like watching beyond the obvious…"

"I see...tell me your opinion then and I'll judge your accuracy."

" Alright. Let's start with then, shall we? We were already talking about him. He acts tough and uninterested; but I am pretty sure in reality he cares more than he lets out. He is the sort of man who will jump in first if his friends are in trouble and his rude and I don't care about you attitude is just for show off. He's too proud to let people see it…"

Heero reflected on her description of Wufei and had to admit that she had most likely nailed. The man could complain and argue, but Wufei was loyal to the people he considered worthy of his trusts.

"Then ...there's Mr. Barton…" she continued "He's quiet and more of listener than a talker, but he voices out his opinion whenever he believes it necessary. He is serious but gentle and he can totally put on act…"

"What do you mean?"

"He can change his face expressions so easily. He is like an actor…sometimes it is hard to tell what he is really thinking."

Heero was surprised that she had noticed it. Trowa and her rarely spoke to each other beyond the usual offering of a cup of tea and a thank you, so he found curious that she had noticed Trowa's inherent skills as an actor.

"Mr. Winner, Quatre, on the other hand. He is more like an open book. He is naive in almost a childish manner, but he has a very grounded sense of justice and a is quick , he often looks down on himself…" she smiled "Duo is not that different. He's so open with what he thinks and feels. He acts out all goofy and silly because he likes to be the one ease tension and calm everyone. His optimism is cute and contagious, and sometimes he does it on purpose to annoy you all…"

"That is Duo, indeed." Heero snorted "So what about me?"

"You…" she said thoughtful "I'd say you are the kind of man who likes to keep his distance. You seem like someone who would prefer watching and guarding from distance. Like...a silent guardian angel…" she snickered "You -too- are serious, especially when it comes to work, but you are a kind and gentle person."

Relena winked at him smiling and he returned her the smile. What was about this woman that made her different to any other he'd met before? He had no idea, but he felt content with it. Maybe, even, a little too content with it.

"So...how did I did?"

"Not bad. You're good."

"Do I get a spot in your team now?"

"I will have to discuss that with my team, Wufei is going to object…" Hero said raising and eyebrow and she laughed "But I may consider you for extra support."

"My pleasure…" she replied making a small bow that looked pretty much as an attempt of the high class ladies' reverence and breaking into giggles "So...can I pull you inside now? It is quite cold…"

"Yes, I don't want you to be frozen because of me."


End file.
